Centennial State News

There were 48 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Colorado during the week ending November 6, a 11.6 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 6, there were 1,141 deaths in the state. 15.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.7 percent were from cancer and 39.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5 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 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	236	211
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	219	192
Heart disease	172	162
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	156	179
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	44
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	48	43
Alzheimer's disease	45	26
Diabetes mellitus	34	17
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
Alzheimer disease and dementia	97	72