Bluegrass Times

There were 27 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 1,034 deaths in the state. 19.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 7.5% 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. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	214	201
Heart disease	204	201
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	54
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	46
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	51	41
Alzheimer's disease	34	23
Diabetes mellitus	31	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	27	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	28
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	114	83