Grand Canyon Times

There were 31 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending March 5, a 34% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 1,051 deaths in the state. 18.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.7% were from cancer and 22.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.5% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	195	234
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	176	184
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	131	191
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	110	163
Cerebrovascular diseases	50	58
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	48	72
Alzheimer's disease	31	47
Diabetes mellitus	30	39
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	13
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	79	114