Maryland State Wire

There were 52 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, a 1.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, there were 1,040 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.5% were from cancer and 4.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% 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 Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Heart disease	228	210
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	203	201
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	53
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	40	35
Diabetes mellitus	36	29
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	34	43
Alzheimer's disease	25	22
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	22
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	107	115