Beehive State News

There were 17 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Utah during the week ending July 2, 2022, a 13.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 2, 2022, there were 404 deaths in the state. 22.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.6% were from cancer and 5.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% 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 July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Heart disease	90	83
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	71	81
Alzheimer's disease	21	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	17
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	17	15
Diabetes mellitus	15	18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	14	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	13
Influenza and pneumonia	0	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	40	43