Pine State News

There were 14 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maine during the week ending March 12, a 27.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 289 deaths in the state. 17.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.3% were from cancer and 12.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 16.3% 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)	50	44
Heart disease	50	60
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	19
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	17	15
Alzheimer's disease	15	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	14	11
Diabetes mellitus	12	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 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	47	25