Constitution State News

There were 16 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Connecticut during the week ending March 5, a 20% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 426 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16% were from cancer and 8.9% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	93	92
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	68	80
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	20
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	34
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	18	28
Alzheimer's disease	16	20
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	16	20
Diabetes mellitus	14	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	44	66