Aloha State News

There were 17 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Hawaii during the week ending October 9, a 51.4 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 9, there were 257 deaths in the state. 16 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.3 percent were from cancer and 12.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3 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 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	60	50
Heart disease	41	39
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	17	35
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	32
Alzheimer's disease	11	13
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	16

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
Alzheimer disease and dementia	24	25