Grand Canyon Times

There were 33 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending July 3, a 8.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 3, there were 1,308 deaths in the state. 18.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4 percent were from cancer and 5.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3 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 2021-07-03	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	254	263
Heart disease	246	265
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	57	81
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	65
Alzheimer's disease	42	36
Diabetes mellitus	41	44
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	39	41
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	36
Influenza and pneumonia	12	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	89