Aloha State News

There were 29 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Hawaii during the week ending March 5, a 12.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 154 deaths in the state. 21.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and less than 6.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	33	43
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	29	33
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	11
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	15
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	16	19