Centennial State News

There were 26 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Colorado during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 3.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 906 deaths in the state. 17.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.7% were from cancer and 4.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.7% 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 Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	160	155
Heart disease	157	139
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	49	44
Alzheimer's disease	43	39
Cerebrovascular diseases	42	26
Diabetes mellitus	28	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	26	27
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	14	16
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	14
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	115	91