Keystone Today

There were 48 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending April 16, 2022, a 23.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 16, 2022, there were 1,979 deaths in the state. 23.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6% were from cancer and 4.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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 April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Heart disease	468	456
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	387	450
Cerebrovascular diseases	95	86
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	85	91
Alzheimer's disease	64	51
Diabetes mellitus	54	53
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	48	39
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	34	54
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	24
Influenza and pneumonia	29	25

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	184	183