Keystone Today

There were 67 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending May 28, 2022, a 13.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 28, 2022, there were 2,242 deaths in the state. 22.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2% were from cancer and 8.9% 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 28, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 21, 2022
Heart disease	505	517
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	454	502
Cerebrovascular diseases	118	101
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	113	89
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	98	99
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	86	66
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	67	59
Diabetes mellitus	67	78
Alzheimer's disease	51	59
Influenza and pneumonia	23	42