Maryland State Wire

There were 48 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Maryland in the week ending Dec. 3, making up 4.4% of total deaths by all causes in Maryland, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 3, there were 1,096 deaths in the state. 21% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.7% were from cancer and 6.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	230	21
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	216	19.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	50	4.6
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	49	4.5
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	48	4.4
Diabetes mellitus	42	3.8
Alzheimer's disease	31	2.8
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	25	2.3
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	1.6
Influenza and pneumonia	14	1.3

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	102	9.3