Centennial State News

There were 36 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Colorado during the week ending June 19, a 10 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 19, there were 820 deaths in the state. 16.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17 percent were from cancer and 9.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19	Number of Deaths 2021-06-12
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	139	163
Heart disease	132	137
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	48
Alzheimer's disease	38	33
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	36	40
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	41
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	35
Diabetes mellitus	15	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19	Number of Deaths 2021-06-12
Alzheimer disease and dementia	70	74