Aloha State News

There were 13 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Hawaii during the week ending September 4, a 23.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 295 deaths in the state. 17.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.9 percent were from cancer and 32.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.5 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 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Heart disease	52	59
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	51	49
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	46	46
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	38	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	17	20
Alzheimer's disease	13	17
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	37	41