Big Sky Times

There were 31 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Montana during the week ending March 12, a 13.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 147 deaths in the state. 21.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1% were from cancer and 14.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	31	36
Heart disease	31	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	11	12
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	14	17