Keystone Today

There were 42 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 23.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 1,930 deaths in the state. 23.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 3.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Heart disease	459	482
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	396	404
Cerebrovascular diseases	93	103
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	87	87
Alzheimer's disease	58	67
Diabetes mellitus	48	55
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	46	37
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	55
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	30	38
Influenza and pneumonia	24	33

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	169	190