Silver State Times

There were 19 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Nevada during the week ending Jan. 15, a 46.2 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 546 deaths in the state. 16.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13 percent were from cancer and 48.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.4 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	136	101
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	127	98
Heart disease	90	131
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	71	100
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	31
Cerebrovascular diseases	22	22
Alzheimer's disease	19	13
Diabetes mellitus	14	16
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	18

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	35	34