Ocean State Today

There were 40 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Rhode Island during the week ending August 21, a 14.9 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 21, there were 204 deaths in the state. 23 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6 percent were from cancer and less than 4.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.8 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 2021-08-21	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14
Heart disease	47	37
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	40	47
Cerebrovascular diseases	13	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	11
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14
Alzheimer disease and dementia	24	19