Beehive State News

There were 11 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Utah during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 15.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 412 deaths in the state. 19.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.4% were from cancer and 2.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.4% 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. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Heart disease	82	63
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	76	80
Alzheimer's disease	21	28
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	19	16
Cerebrovascular diseases	18	26
Diabetes mellitus	16	13
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	11	13
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	51	53