Grand Canyon Times

There were 36 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending June 26, a 12.5 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 26, there were 1,369 deaths in the state. 19.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2 percent were from cancer and 5.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.5 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 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	263	232
Heart disease	261	256
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	81	65
Cerebrovascular diseases	65	61
Diabetes mellitus	43	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	43
Alzheimer's disease	36	50
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	36	32
Influenza and pneumonia	12	14
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	16

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	89	122