Grand Canyon Times

There were 18 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Arizona in the week ending July 15, making up 1.4% of total deaths by all causes in Arizona, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 15, there were 1,272 deaths in the state. 20% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.7% were from cancer and 2.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8% 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	255	20
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	225	17.7
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	5.3
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	3.8
Diabetes mellitus	41	3.2
Alzheimer's disease	31	2.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	18	1.4
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	1.1
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	13	1
Influenza and pneumonia	12	0.9

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	102	8