Pine State News

There were 15 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maine during the week ending June 17, a 21.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 282 deaths in the state. 18.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.9% were from cancer and less than 3.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	59	65
Heart disease	52	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	15	19
Diabetes mellitus	12	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	12
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	29	31