Grand Canyon Times

There were 64 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending March 12, a 18.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 1,082 deaths in the state. 20.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.1% were from cancer and 15.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	218	213
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	174	194
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	93	136
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	79	114
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	64	54
Diabetes mellitus	44	32
Cerebrovascular diseases	42	55
Alzheimer's disease	38	33
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	15
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	85	83