Silver State Times

There were 29 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Nevada during the week ending August 14, a 45 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 14, there were 667 deaths in the state. 23.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.9 percent were from cancer and 41.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 4.3 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 2021-08-14	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07
Heart disease	154	131
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	140	146
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	138	134
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	106	87
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	29	20
Cerebrovascular diseases	23	19
Diabetes mellitus	11	21
Alzheimer's disease	10	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07
Alzheimer disease and dementia	29	38