Centennial State News

There were 32 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Colorado during the week ending September 4, a 3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 897 deaths in the state. 15.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.3 percent were from cancer and 22.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2 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 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	146	177
Heart disease	137	143
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	104	95
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	97	79
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	35
Alzheimer's disease	32	33
Cerebrovascular diseases	30	38
Diabetes mellitus	22	24
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	74	83