Old Dominion News

There were 52 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 4% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 1,511 deaths in the state. 20.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 7.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% 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 July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	309	259
Heart disease	303	281
Cerebrovascular diseases	92	82
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	67	49
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	50
Diabetes mellitus	48	46
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	44	36
Alzheimer's disease	43	39
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	33	29
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	155	118