Keystone Today

There were 78 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 1.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 2,577 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 7.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Heart disease	553	574
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	549	562
Cerebrovascular diseases	129	130
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	117	114
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	103	98
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	78	77
Alzheimer's disease	64	79
Diabetes mellitus	57	64
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	51	45
Influenza and pneumonia	23	22

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	210	242