Bluegrass Times

There were 70 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, a 16.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, there were 1,060 deaths in the state. 21.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.4% were from cancer and 9.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Heart disease	226	209
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	195	211
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	70	60
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	68	73
Cerebrovascular diseases	42	44
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	45
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	29
Diabetes mellitus	27	25
Alzheimer's disease	24	26
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	93	82