Centennial State News

There were 44 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Colorado during the week ending July 17, a 22.2 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 17, there were 834 deaths in the state. 14.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1 percent were from cancer and 8.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9 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 2021-07-17	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	159	145
Heart disease	124	130
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	36
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	53
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	30
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	43
Diabetes mellitus	27	28
Alzheimer's disease	27	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	75	77