Bluegrass Times

There were 170 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 9.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 799 deaths in the state. 23.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 12.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Heart disease	185	195
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	170	187
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	68	74
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	57	57
Cerebrovascular diseases	39	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	32	48
Diabetes mellitus	29	19
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	24
Alzheimer's disease	15	29
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	78	85