Grand Canyon Times

There were 43 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending July 10, a 2.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 10, there were 1,278 deaths in the state. 19.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4 percent were from cancer and 5.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.9 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 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	248	254
Heart disease	245	250
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	61	58
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	57
Alzheimer's disease	43	42
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	40
Diabetes mellitus	35	41
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	34
Influenza and pneumonia	12	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Alzheimer disease and dementia	88	110