Keystone Today

There were 69 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending June 4, 2022, a 35.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 4, 2022, there were 2,163 deaths in the state. 23.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 9.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Heart disease	516	513
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	448	457
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	122	114
Cerebrovascular diseases	121	118
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	89	87
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	77	98
Alzheimer's disease	69	51
Diabetes mellitus	64	67
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	46	68
Influenza and pneumonia	32	23

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	213	181