Keystone Today

There were 50 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending May 14, 2022, a 19.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 14, 2022, there were 2,030 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.2% were from cancer and 5% were from COVID-19.

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 14, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 7, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	450	476
Heart disease	442	543
Cerebrovascular diseases	119	137
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	89	124
Alzheimer's disease	66	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	60	69
Diabetes mellitus	59	68
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	50	62
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	42	43
Influenza and pneumonia	23	37