Rushmore State News

There were 15 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Dakota during the week ending July 24, a 50 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 24, there were 158 deaths in the state. 13.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 26.6 percent were from cancer and less than 6.3 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	42	44
Heart disease	21	28
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	15	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	0
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	11
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10