Evergreen Reporter

There were 61 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 14.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 1,203 deaths in the state. 18.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and 9.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.1% 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 Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	226	257
Heart disease	226	255
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	72	67
Alzheimer's disease	61	71
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	56	48
Cerebrovascular diseases	50	75
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	45	41
Diabetes mellitus	41	43
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	122	127