Grand Canyon Times

There were 80 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending Jan. 22, a 9.6 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 22, there were 1,536 deaths in the state. 15.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 11.7 percent were from cancer and 48 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4 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 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	388	419
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	350	388
Heart disease	241	258
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	179	246
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	80	73
Cerebrovascular diseases	67	62
Alzheimer's disease	58	62
Diabetes mellitus	45	45
Influenza and pneumonia	20	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	23

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	129	141