Aloha State News

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Hawaii during the week ending Feb. 26, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 26, there were 168 deaths in the state. 22 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6 percent were from cancer and less than 6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9 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 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Heart disease	37	30
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	33	28
Cerebrovascular diseases	14	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	15	18