Big Sky Times

There were 12 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Montana during the week ending Jan. 22, a 9.1 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 22, there were 186 deaths in the state. 17.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.9 percent were from cancer and 31.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1 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 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Heart disease	33	51
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	32	35
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	27	33
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	24	31
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	12	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	0	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	17	22