Keystone Today

There were 445 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 6.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 2,066 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 7.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Heart disease	451	505
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	445	476
Cerebrovascular diseases	110	114
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	101	116
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	95	88
Alzheimer's disease	69	70
Diabetes mellitus	61	70
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	61	75
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	44	49
Influenza and pneumonia	18	23

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	195	213