Sunflower State News

There were 12 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Kansas during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 587 deaths in the state. 19.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.7% were from cancer and 5.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.1% 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. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	112	103
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	110	102
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	34
Cerebrovascular diseases	23	20
Diabetes mellitus	19	20
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	19	17
Alzheimer's disease	18	27
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	12	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	10
Influenza and pneumonia	10	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	65	62