Pine State News

There were 24 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maine during the week ending November 6, a 41.2 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 6, there were 397 deaths in the state. 14.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.6 percent were from cancer and 20.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.6 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 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	62	63
Heart disease	59	70
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	35
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	40	31
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	24	17
Alzheimer's disease	18	10
Cerebrovascular diseases	15	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	18

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
Alzheimer disease and dementia	46	43