Mountain State Times

There were 31 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 14.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 452 deaths in the state. 16.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.3% were from cancer and 11.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.4% 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 Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Heart disease	75	87
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	69	80
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	27
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	31	18
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	13
Diabetes mellitus	19	18
Cerebrovascular diseases	17	18
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	10
Alzheimer's disease	12	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	29	32