Bluegrass Times

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 20% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 702 deaths in the state. 22.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8% were from cancer and 8.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4% 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 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Heart disease	155	165
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	153	172
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	37
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	38
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	35
Alzheimer's disease	26	23
Diabetes mellitus	20	22
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	20	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	21
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	73	74