Bluegrass Times

There were 51 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 13.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 994 deaths in the state. 21.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 11% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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 Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Heart disease	210	185
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	188	196
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	71	86
Cerebrovascular diseases	53	43
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	59
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	38	46
Alzheimer's disease	29	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	26	21
Diabetes mellitus	25	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	93	80