Bluegrass Times

There were 22 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending June 4, 2022, a 26.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 4, 2022, there were 687 deaths in the state. 22.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 24.5% were from cancer and 8.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

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 June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	168	163
Heart disease	152	173
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	34
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	33	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	19
Alzheimer's disease	22	30
Diabetes mellitus	21	19
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	17
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	71	78