Old Dominion News

There were 57 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, a 7.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, there were 1,391 deaths in the state. 20.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 10.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.7% 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 Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	296	291
Heart disease	282	315
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	86	77
Cerebrovascular diseases	80	77
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	57	53
Diabetes mellitus	46	42
Alzheimer's disease	42	44
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	54
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	36
Influenza and pneumonia	12	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	135	149