Cornhusker State News

There were 20 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Nebraska during the week ending December 11, a 5.3 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending December 11, there were 410 deaths in the state. 16.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8 percent were from cancer and 32.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8 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 2021-12-11	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	73	71
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	70	75
Heart disease	66	78
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	65	66
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	20	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	19	11
Diabetes mellitus	14	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	13	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	0

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	40	34