Bluegrass Times

There were 44 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 18.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 846 deaths in the state. 22.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.6% were from cancer and 14.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3% 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 Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Heart disease	193	162
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	183	197
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	80	66
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	49	54
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	44	37
Cerebrovascular diseases	28	39
Diabetes mellitus	22	34
Alzheimer's disease	21	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	20
Influenza and pneumonia	12	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	70	77