Maryland State Wire

There were 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending June 17, a 23.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 934 deaths in the state. 20.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.3% were from cancer and 1.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.6% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	208	187
Heart disease	192	198
Cerebrovascular diseases	63	66
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	33
Diabetes mellitus	24	24
Alzheimer's disease	24	17
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	13	10
Influenza and pneumonia	10	13
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	13
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	99	76