Maryland State Wire

There were 20 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 5.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 945 deaths in the state. 22% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.4% were from cancer and 8.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Heart disease	208	212
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	202	179
Cerebrovascular diseases	59	67
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	45	53
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	24
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	31
Alzheimer's disease	20	19
Diabetes mellitus	19	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	81	75