Keystone Today

There were 160 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending March 5, a 36.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 2,163 deaths in the state. 23.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and 12.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	505	514
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	406	445
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	160	252
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	120	195
Cerebrovascular diseases	84	101
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	82	82
Alzheimer's disease	81	74
Diabetes mellitus	65	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	48	54
Influenza and pneumonia	24	27

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	224	225