Big Sky Times

There were 55 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Montana during the week ending October 16, a 34.1 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 16, there were 336 deaths in the state. 15.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.4 percent were from cancer and 63.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 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 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	109	106
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	103	97
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	55	41
Heart disease	53	46
Diabetes mellitus	10	10
Alzheimer's disease	10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	0
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	19

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Alzheimer disease and dementia	27	19