Keystone Today

There were 85 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 2.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 2,747 deaths in the state. 21.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 7.8% 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 Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Heart disease	595	608
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	529	525
Cerebrovascular diseases	143	150
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	129	129
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	106	91
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	85	87
Alzheimer's disease	81	91
Diabetes mellitus	68	81
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	49	58
Influenza and pneumonia	41	33

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	276	269