Grand Canyon Times

There were 36 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending Dec. 25, a 100 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 25, there were 1,548 deaths in the state. 17.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.6 percent were from cancer and 48.2 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 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	385	443
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	361	419
Heart disease	274	265
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	226	234
Alzheimer's disease	70	63
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	69	56
Cerebrovascular diseases	46	67
Influenza and pneumonia	36	18
Diabetes mellitus	29	59
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	125	128