Evergreen Reporter

There were less than 10 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending September 11, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 1,455 deaths in the state. 15.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.5 percent were from cancer and 34.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	263	264
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	255	282
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	239	245
Heart disease	225	246
Alzheimer's disease	75	70
Cerebrovascular diseases	70	57
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	62
Diabetes mellitus	36	47
Influenza and pneumonia	10	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	15

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	148	127