Maryland State Wire

There were 21 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending July 2, 2022, a 90.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 2, 2022, there were 903 deaths in the state. 20.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.3% were from cancer and 6.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	210	186
Heart disease	188	202
Cerebrovascular diseases	64	69
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	42
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	22
Diabetes mellitus	25	24
Alzheimer's disease	21	11
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	19	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	13
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	86	85