Centennial State News

There were 73 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Colorado during the week ending August 21, a 28.1 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 21, there were 907 deaths in the state. 15.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.9 percent were from cancer and 17.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9 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 2021-08-21	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	162	170
Heart disease	141	148
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	84	62
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	73	57
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	29
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	46
Alzheimer's disease	31	23
Diabetes mellitus	14	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14
Alzheimer disease and dementia	81	66