Mountain State Times

There were 48 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending March 5, a 25% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 317 deaths in the state. 20.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17% were from cancer and 33.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	64	83
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	58	76
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	54	48
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	48	64
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	11	15
Alzheimer's disease	10	16
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	11
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	29	34