Bay State News

There were 252 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Massachusetts during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 1.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 1,122 deaths in the state. 16.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.5% were from cancer and 5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.2% 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
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	252	249
Heart disease	190	200
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	49
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	32
Alzheimer's disease	33	23
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	33	47
Diabetes mellitus	29	20
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	25	26
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	34
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	18

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	126	96