Pine State News

There were 17 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maine during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 19% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 329 deaths in the state. 20.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 9.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.6% 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 Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	68	86
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	63	40
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	19	19
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	17	21
Cerebrovascular diseases	13	12
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	12	10
Alzheimer's disease	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	38	39