Maryland State Wire

There were 34 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending June 5, a 34.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 5, there were 999 deaths in the state. 20.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.2 percent were from cancer and 7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4 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 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	212	212
Heart disease	202	208
Cerebrovascular diseases	62	60
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	36	63
Diabetes mellitus	34	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	52
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	22	39
Alzheimer's disease	21	21
Influenza and pneumonia	18	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	19

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Alzheimer disease and dementia	84	78