Sunflower State News

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Kansas during the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, there were 528 deaths in the state. 19.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 3.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.7% 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 Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Heart disease	103	107
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	102	99
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	28
Alzheimer's disease	27	19
Diabetes mellitus	20	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	14
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	17	23
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	13
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	62	62