Mountain State Times

There were 74 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 2.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 449 deaths in the state. 18.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.5% were from cancer and 9.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8% 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 Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Heart disease	85	81
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	74	76
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	29	26
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	25	36
Diabetes mellitus	21	15
Cerebrovascular diseases	18	18
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	27
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	13
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	35	40