Keystone Today

There were 530 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending May 15, 2021, a 5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 15, 2021, there were 2,670 deaths in the state. 21.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9% were from cancer and 14.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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 May 15, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021
Heart disease	566	584
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	530	505
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	205	263
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	180	234
Cerebrovascular diseases	125	132
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	97	90
Diabetes mellitus	72	77
Alzheimer's disease	68	61
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	48	62
Influenza and pneumonia	23	39

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	227	189