Old Dominion News

There were 41 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 28.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 1,151 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 6.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.5% 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 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	247	263
Heart disease	247	278
Cerebrovascular diseases	62	63
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	57
Alzheimer's disease	41	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	39	49
Diabetes mellitus	36	44
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	32	42
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	28
Influenza and pneumonia	14	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	121	138