Old Dominion News

There were 55 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 19.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 1,448 deaths in the state. 19.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.7% were from cancer and 8.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.5% 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 Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	328	298
Heart disease	277	276
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	76	66
Cerebrovascular diseases	73	59
Alzheimer's disease	60	39
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	68
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	53	47
Diabetes mellitus	47	48
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	31	27
Influenza and pneumonia	18	24

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	167	155