Keystone Today

There were 87 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania in the week ending Dec. 17, making up 3.2% of total deaths by all causes in Pennsylvania, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 17, there were 2,700 deaths in the state. 23.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19% were from cancer and 7.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% 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	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	636	23.6
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	514	19
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	120	4.4
Cerebrovascular diseases	114	4.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	102	3.8
Diabetes mellitus	88	3.3
Influenza and pneumonia	87	3.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	87	3.2
Alzheimer's disease	81	3
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	62	2.3

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	268	9.9