Keystone Today

There were 79 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 2.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 2,774 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 9.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.7% 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. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	605	595
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	530	529
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	156	129
Cerebrovascular diseases	134	143
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	112	106
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	110	85
Alzheimer's disease	79	81
Diabetes mellitus	78	68
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	64	49
Influenza and pneumonia	39	41

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	270	276