Keystone Today

There were 469 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 4.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 2,118 deaths in the state. 23.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.1% were from cancer and 8.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10% 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 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Heart disease	492	523
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	469	450
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	110	122
Cerebrovascular diseases	108	123
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	85	77
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	73	89
Alzheimer's disease	70	69
Diabetes mellitus	66	66
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	49	46
Influenza and pneumonia	20	34

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	212	214