Beehive State News

There were 63 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Utah during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 21.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 424 deaths in the state. 14.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 5.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.5% 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 Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	80	65
Heart disease	63	80
Alzheimer's disease	28	20
Cerebrovascular diseases	26	21
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	15	15
Diabetes mellitus	13	14
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	12	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	53	42