Bluegrass Times

There were 30 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, a 11.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, there were 1,034 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.5% were from cancer and 9.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2% 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 Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	202	214
Heart disease	201	204
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	63	51
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	55
Cerebrovascular diseases	42	52
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	39	27
Diabetes mellitus	30	31
Alzheimer's disease	30	34
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	25	18
Influenza and pneumonia	14	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	95	114