Silver State Times

There were 27 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Nevada during the week ending May 8, a 6.9 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 8, there were 569 deaths in the state. 19.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5 percent were from cancer and 10.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.2 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 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Heart disease	113	109
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	105	92
Cerebrovascular diseases	36	25
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	32	43
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	41
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	27	29
Diabetes mellitus	18	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	15	10
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Alzheimer disease and dementia	41	38