Maryland State Wire

There were 17 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending Feb. 26, a 26.1 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 26, there were 759 deaths in the state. 19.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6 percent were from cancer and 14.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.2 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 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	149	149
Heart disease	147	141
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	63	78
Cerebrovascular diseases	53	62
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	47	57
Alzheimer's disease	22	21
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	18	29
Diabetes mellitus	17	23
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	85	76