Silver State Times

There were 131 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Nevada during the week ending October 9, a 3.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 9, there were 649 deaths in the state. 19.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.3 percent were from cancer and 40.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 4.9 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 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	134	145
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	131	136
Heart disease	125	104
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	93	98
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	30	27
Cerebrovascular diseases	22	27
Diabetes mellitus	11	17
Alzheimer's disease	11	16
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
Alzheimer disease and dementia	32	34