Bluegrass Times

There were 23 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending June 17, a 17.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 967 deaths in the state. 21.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 1.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	208	208
Heart disease	206	209
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	62	63
Cerebrovascular diseases	45	38
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	33	25
Diabetes mellitus	27	18
Alzheimer's disease	23	28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	15	22
Influenza and pneumonia	12	10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	74	71