Mountain State Times

There were 34 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 25.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 433 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7% were from cancer and 9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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 June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Heart disease	95	71
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	94	90
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	27
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	19	21
Diabetes mellitus	16	14
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	13
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	11	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	35	37