Aloha State News

There were 51 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Hawaii during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 8.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 246 deaths in the state. 20.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and less than 4.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.8% 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 Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Heart disease	51	56
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	50	41
Cerebrovascular diseases	19	21
Alzheimer's disease	10	13
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	0	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	29	33