Mountain State Times

There were 89 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 9.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 464 deaths in the state. 17.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2% were from cancer and 8.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4% 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 July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	89	81
Heart disease	82	77
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	25
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	25	17
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	18
Diabetes mellitus	18	23
Alzheimer's disease	14	11
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	13	14
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	39	38