Maryland State Wire

There were 32 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 6.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 953 deaths in the state. 20.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.9% were from cancer and 9.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	199	223
Heart disease	195	211
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	44
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	54	54
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	32
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	30
Diabetes mellitus	31	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	12
Alzheimer's disease	17	17
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	85	83