Grand Canyon Times

There were 371 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending Dec. 18, a 19.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 18, there were 1,526 deaths in the state. 15.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.7 percent were from cancer and 49.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8 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 2021-12-18	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	389	490
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	371	462
Heart disease	238	268
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	209	221
Cerebrovascular diseases	62	75
Alzheimer's disease	60	45
Diabetes mellitus	52	65
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	82
Influenza and pneumonia	15	14
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	18

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	119	110