Silver State Times

There were 20 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Nevada during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 4.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 567 deaths in the state. 22.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.7% were from cancer and less than 1.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.9% 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	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Heart disease	128	114
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	106	115
Cerebrovascular diseases	36	32
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	27	27
Diabetes mellitus	22	15
Alzheimer's disease	20	21
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	13
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	39	46