Grand Canyon Times

There were 15 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending October 16, a 25 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 16, there were 1,500 deaths in the state. 17.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.1 percent were from cancer and 32 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1 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 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Heart disease	256	242
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	250	236
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	230	222
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	227	264
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	69	71
Cerebrovascular diseases	59	52
Alzheimer's disease	55	46
Diabetes mellitus	50	57
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	15	20

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Alzheimer disease and dementia	121	103