Rushmore State News

There were 11 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Dakota during the week ending September 18, a 10 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 18, there were 168 deaths in the state. 17.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.2 percent were from cancer and 26.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7 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 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	39	30
Heart disease	29	33
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	24	21
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	21	18
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	14	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	11	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	0	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	13	11