Silver State Times

There were 108 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Nevada during the week ending October 23, a 10.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 23, there were 645 deaths in the state. 20 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.3 percent were from cancer and 32.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 5.6 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 2021-10-23	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16
Heart disease	129	123
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	108	121
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	101	120
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	99	100
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	29
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	24	31
Alzheimer's disease	19	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-23	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16
Alzheimer disease and dementia	36	38