Mountain State Times

There were 23 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a 15% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 523 deaths in the state. 20.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5% were from cancer and 7.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2% 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 Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Heart disease	107	93
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	97	83
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	26	29
Cerebrovascular diseases	23	22
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	20
Diabetes mellitus	17	23
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	13
Influenza and pneumonia	13	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	13	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	43	45