Maryland State Wire

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Maryland during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 66.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 689 deaths in the state. 20.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9% were from cancer and 4.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4% 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 April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Heart disease	143	164
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	137	156
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	38
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	29	28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	12
Diabetes mellitus	19	11
Alzheimer's disease	19	14
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	10	16
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	72	73