Bluegrass Times

There were 31 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a 3.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 1,044 deaths in the state. 20.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and 9.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Heart disease	214	201
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	196	202
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	68	51
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	65	63
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	38	39
Diabetes mellitus	37	30
Cerebrovascular diseases	37	42
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	32	25
Alzheimer's disease	31	30
Influenza and pneumonia	27	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	91	95