Silver State Times

There were 29 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Nevada during the week ending September 18, a 61.1 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 18, there were 691 deaths in the state. 17.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.6 percent were from cancer and 47.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 4.8 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 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	167	182
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	162	174
Heart disease	119	145
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	108	100
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	29	18
Cerebrovascular diseases	27	33
Alzheimer's disease	16	17
Diabetes mellitus	14	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	33	41