Bluegrass Times

There were 156 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 1.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 738 deaths in the state. 24.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1% were from cancer and 9.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7% 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 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Heart disease	179	163
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	156	158
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	48	51
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	41
Cerebrovascular diseases	31	43
Alzheimer's disease	30	26
Diabetes mellitus	28	23
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	27	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	19
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	79	74