Keystone Today

There were 541 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, a 3.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, there were 2,435 deaths in the state. 18.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.2% were from cancer and 8.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	541	560
Heart disease	453	528
Cerebrovascular diseases	131	116
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	125	116
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	95	109
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	74	63
Diabetes mellitus	65	75
Alzheimer's disease	63	73
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	62	55
Influenza and pneumonia	21	21

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	210	230