Mountain State Times

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending March 19, 2022, a 39.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 19, 2022, there were 363 deaths in the state. 20.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19% were from cancer and 13.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7% 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 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Heart disease	76	74
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	69	74
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	26	24
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	15
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	20	33
Diabetes mellitus	17	11
Alzheimer's disease	13	16
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	28	39