Centennial State News

There were 35 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Colorado during the week ending August 28, a 5.4 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 28, there were 911 deaths in the state. 15.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4 percent were from cancer and 18.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1 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 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	177	163
Heart disease	142	142
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	94	84
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	78	73
Cerebrovascular diseases	38	35
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	37
Alzheimer's disease	33	31
Diabetes mellitus	24	14
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Alzheimer disease and dementia	83	81