Last Frontier News

There were less than 10 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alaska during the week ending October 23, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 23, there were 114 deaths in the state. Less than 8.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.5 percent were from cancer and 62.3 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2021-10-23	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	39
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	38
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	20	15
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	0
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10
Heart disease	< 10	12
Influenza and pneumonia	0	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	0	< 10