Beehive State News

There were 22 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Utah during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 120% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 395 deaths in the state. 18% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17% were from cancer and less than 2.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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 Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Heart disease	71	73
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	67	57
Cerebrovascular diseases	22	10
Diabetes mellitus	20	14
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	14	22
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	12	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	36	37