Keystone Today

There were 34 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending Jan. 15, a 39.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 3,055 deaths in the state. 20.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.5 percent were from cancer and 53.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	857	850
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	769	772
Heart disease	632	682
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	382	539
Cerebrovascular diseases	123	148
Alzheimer's disease	110	94
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	99	106
Diabetes mellitus	73	71
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	57	58
Influenza and pneumonia	34	56

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	253	269