Maryland State Wire

There were 23 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, a 37.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, there were 935 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 7.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.6% 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 Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Heart disease	204	179
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	180	221
Cerebrovascular diseases	63	54
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	45	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	28	24
Diabetes mellitus	24	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	37
Alzheimer's disease	20	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	90	93