Sunflower State News

There were less than 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Kansas during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 558 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2% were from cancer and 5.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.6% 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. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	120	119
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	107	95
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	26	34
Alzheimer's disease	22	18
Cerebrovascular diseases	21	20
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	19	23
Diabetes mellitus	17	13
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	12	17
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	65	53