Grand Canyon Times

There were 83 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona in the week ending Dec. 17, making up 6.2% of total deaths by all causes in Arizona, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 17, there were 1,342 deaths in the state. 19.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.3% were from cancer and 14.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% 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	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	257	19.2
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	245	18.3
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	110	8.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	86	6.4
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	83	6.2
Cerebrovascular diseases	66	4.9
Alzheimer's disease	51	3.8
Diabetes mellitus	50	3.7
Influenza and pneumonia	29	2.2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	1

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	133	9.9