Mountain State Times

There were 15 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending March 12, a 50% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 382 deaths in the state. 18.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and 19.9% 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 March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	72	61
Heart disease	70	69
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	44	62
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	32	52
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	22	14
Alzheimer's disease	15	10
Cerebrovascular diseases	15	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	37	30