Maryland State Wire

There were 25 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 56.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 1,058 deaths in the state. 20.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4% were from cancer and 6.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7% 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. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	220	228
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	205	203
Cerebrovascular diseases	79	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	34
Diabetes mellitus	42	36
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	40
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	25	16
Alzheimer's disease	19	25
Influenza and pneumonia	13	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	81	107