Keystone Today

There were 116 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending December 4, a 31.8 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending December 4, there were 3,504 deaths in the state. 18.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.6 percent were from cancer and 38.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	706	597
Heart disease	661	670
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	650	533
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	513	537
Cerebrovascular diseases	131	152
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	116	88
Alzheimer's disease	104	95
Diabetes mellitus	76	69
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	58	66
Influenza and pneumonia	31	32

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27
Alzheimer disease and dementia	274	293