Maryland State Wire

There were 39 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland in the week ending Dec. 24, making up 4.7% of total deaths by all causes in Maryland, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 24, there were 825 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.1% were from cancer and 11.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 14.8% 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	190	23
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	149	18.1
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	53	6.4
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	5.3
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	41	5
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	39	4.7
Diabetes mellitus	36	4.4
Alzheimer's disease	24	2.9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	1.2
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 1.2

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	122	14.8