Bay State News

There were 48 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Massachusetts during the week ending August 7, a 41.2 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 7, there were 1,133 deaths in the state. 17.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5 percent were from cancer and 3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2 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)	244	243
Heart disease	195	205
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	48	34
Cerebrovascular diseases	42	39
Diabetes mellitus	26	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	21
Alzheimer's disease	22	23
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	18	17
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	14
Influenza and pneumonia	14	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Alzheimer disease and dementia	116	106