Big Sky Times

There were 17 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Montana during the week ending August 7, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 7, there were 235 deaths in the state. 19.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3 percent were from cancer and 9.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.8 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 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	50	49
Heart disease	45	56
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	17	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	12	17
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	11	13
Diabetes mellitus	10	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Alzheimer disease and dementia	16	26