Sunflower State News

There were 37 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Kansas during the week ending March 5, a 28.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 499 deaths in the state. 17.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.8% were from cancer and 17.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 14.2% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	88	86
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	79	89
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	51	63
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	52
Cerebrovascular diseases	29	19
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	24	29
Diabetes mellitus	16	14
Alzheimer's disease	15	13
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	71	53