Old Dominion News

There were 31 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending July 30, 2022, a 34.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 30, 2022, there were 1,431 deaths in the state. 21.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6% were from cancer and 7.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.8% 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 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Heart disease	305	319
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	266	300
Cerebrovascular diseases	80	88
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	69	68
Alzheimer's disease	50	51
Diabetes mellitus	47	62
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	56
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	43	46
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	31	23
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	155	168