Maryland State Wire

There were 28 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending March 5, a 40% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 738 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.5% were from cancer and 10.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	159	164
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	129	169
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	57
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	44	73
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	31	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	28	20
Diabetes mellitus	23	22
Alzheimer's disease	18	23
Influenza and pneumonia	14	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	75	90