Bluegrass Times

There were 49 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending June 24, a 21% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 911 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.8% were from cancer and 1.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3% 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 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	208	208
Heart disease	199	206
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	49	62
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	45
Alzheimer's disease	31	23
Diabetes mellitus	27	27
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	33
Influenza and pneumonia	15	12
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	11	15
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	76	74