Maryland State Wire

There were 22 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending March 12, a 26.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 748 deaths in the state. 22.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.5% were from cancer and 8.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10% 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 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	168	167
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	146	135
Cerebrovascular diseases	50	47
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	38	48
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	34
Diabetes mellitus	25	24
Alzheimer's disease	23	18
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	22	30
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	14
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	75	75