Beehive State News

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Utah during the week ending July 23, 2022, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 407 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 3.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13% 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 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Heart disease	79	86
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	77	76
Alzheimer's disease	26	20
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	16	17
Cerebrovascular diseases	13	17
Diabetes mellitus	11	14
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	11	13
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	53	33