Mountain State Times

There were 14 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 16.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 489 deaths in the state. 23.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18% were from cancer and 8.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	113	75
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	88	69
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	30	31
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	27	31
Diabetes mellitus	20	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	17
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	22
Alzheimer's disease	14	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	42	29