Mountain State Times

There were 61 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending May 21, 2022, a 8.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 21, 2022, there were 301 deaths in the state. 23.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and 6.3% were from COVID-19.

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 May 21, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 14, 2022
Heart disease	71	71
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	61	56
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	19	15
Cerebrovascular diseases	16	12
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	12	27
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10