Evergreen Reporter

There were 68 deaths from Alzheimer's disease reported in the state of Washington in the week ending Dec. 24, making up 6.1% of total deaths by all causes in the state of Washington, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 24, there were 1,123 deaths in the state. 19.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2% were from cancer and 7.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 14.3% 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	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	227	20.2
Heart disease	220	19.6
Alzheimer's disease	68	6.1
Cerebrovascular diseases	61	5.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	4.7
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	51	4.5
Influenza and pneumonia	33	2.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	2.9
Diabetes mellitus	32	2.8
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 0.9

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	161	14.3