Centennial State News

There were 187 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Colorado during the week ending October 23, a 24.7 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 23, there were 1,024 deaths in the state. 14.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.7 percent were from cancer and 34.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9 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 2021-10-23	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	187	150
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	171	149
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	167	140
Heart disease	150	148
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	48	47
Cerebrovascular diseases	42	42
Alzheimer's disease	32	29
Diabetes mellitus	23	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	20
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-23	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16
Alzheimer disease and dementia	81	78