Bluegrass Times

There were 58 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 11.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 885 deaths in the state. 23.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.5% were from cancer and 12.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.2% 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 July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Heart disease	205	169
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	199	163
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	69	70
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	58	52
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	41	41
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	26
Alzheimer's disease	22	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	21
Diabetes mellitus	19	30
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	64	79