Bluegrass Times

There were 34 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 2.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 991 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2% were from cancer and 9.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11% 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. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	192	226
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	190	195
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	57	68
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	70
Cerebrovascular diseases	39	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	35
Alzheimer's disease	29	24
Diabetes mellitus	28	27
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	27
Influenza and pneumonia	13	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	93