Sunflower State News

There were 18 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kansas during the week ending March 12, a 20% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 439 deaths in the state. 20.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.9% were from cancer and 11.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	91	94
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	70	82
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	30	54
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	40
Alzheimer's disease	18	15
Diabetes mellitus	15	17
Cerebrovascular diseases	15	30
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	43	74