Mountain State Times

There were 22 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending June 17, a 15.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 434 deaths in the state. 22.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.7% were from cancer and less than 2.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Heart disease	98	97
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	81	78
Cerebrovascular diseases	23	23
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	22	26
Diabetes mellitus	18	13
Alzheimer's disease	14	13
Influenza and pneumonia	13	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	39	37