Evergreen Reporter

There were 170 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending April 16, 2022, a 30.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 16, 2022, there were 806 deaths in the state. 22.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1% were from cancer and 4.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.7% 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 April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Heart disease	180	130
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	170	130
Alzheimer's disease	56	23
Cerebrovascular diseases	40	20
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	28
Diabetes mellitus	22	18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	21	11
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	14	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	94	50