Keystone Today

There were 26 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 23.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 2,455 deaths in the state. 21.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4% were from cancer and 9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Heart disease	532	464
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	477	543
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	133	126
Cerebrovascular diseases	125	132
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	88	75
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	80	95
Diabetes mellitus	71	65
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	57	62
Alzheimer's disease	57	63
Influenza and pneumonia	26	21

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	195	211