Maryland State Wire

There were less than 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending July 30, 2022, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 30, 2022, there were 958 deaths in the state. 22.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.9% were from cancer and 8.8% 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 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Heart disease	213	194
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	210	207
Cerebrovascular diseases	55	59
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	51	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	24
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	27
Diabetes mellitus	22	36
Alzheimer's disease	21	18
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	79	76