Maryland State Wire

There were 24 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending July 23, 2022, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 931 deaths in the state. 20.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.1% were from cancer and 7.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2% 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 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	206	212
Heart disease	191	204
Cerebrovascular diseases	59	64
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	40
Diabetes mellitus	36	30
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	28	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	24
Alzheimer's disease	18	22
Influenza and pneumonia	13	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	76	80