Maryland State Wire

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland in the week ending April 30, making up less than 1.7% of total deaths by all causes in Maryland, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 30, there were 587 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.8% were from cancer and 2.7% were from COVID-19.

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	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	134	22.8
Heart disease	126	21.5
Cerebrovascular diseases	36	6.1
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	21	3.6
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	16	2.7
Diabetes mellitus	15	2.6
Influenza and pneumonia	10	1.7
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	1.7
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 1.7
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 1.7