Maryland State Wire

There were 26 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland in the week ending Dec. 17, making up 2.7% of total deaths by all causes in Maryland, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 17, there were 979 deaths in the state. 23.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.6% were from cancer and 7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% 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	232	23.7
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	172	17.6
Cerebrovascular diseases	72	7.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	4.5
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	4.4
Diabetes mellitus	34	3.5
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	2.7
Influenza and pneumonia	24	2.5
Alzheimer's disease	22	2.2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	1.7

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	97	9.9