Pine State News

There were 60 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maine during the week ending July 17, a 18.9 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 17, there were 305 deaths in the state. 19.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7 percent were from cancer and less than 3.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.1 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 2021-07-17	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	63	81
Heart disease	60	74
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	21	21
Diabetes mellitus	13	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	11	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	37	31