Bluegrass Times

There were 30 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending May 28, 2022, a 15.4% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 28, 2022, there were 693 deaths in the state. 24% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.1% were from cancer and 7.1% were from COVID-19.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 21, 2022
Heart disease	166	163
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	160	185
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	50
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	48
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	30	26
Alzheimer's disease	29	17
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	19	10
Diabetes mellitus	17	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	15
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	15