Centennial State News

There were 31 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Colorado during the week ending March 12, a 3.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 574 deaths in the state. 16.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.3% were from cancer and 8.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	105	90
Heart disease	96	110
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	34	42
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	28
Alzheimer's disease	31	32
Cerebrovascular diseases	27	29
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	25
Diabetes mellitus	11	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	57	67