Grand Canyon Times

There were 53 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending May 22, a 1.9 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 22, there were 1,239 deaths in the state. 18.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6 percent were from cancer and 7.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-05-22	Number of Deaths 2021-05-15
Heart disease	234	272
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	230	237
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	55
Alzheimer's disease	53	55
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	52	53
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	44	45
Diabetes mellitus	37	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	10
Influenza and pneumonia	18	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-22	Number of Deaths 2021-05-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	124	127