Grand Canyon Times

There were 179 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending March 19, 2022, a 0.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 19, 2022, there were 1,015 deaths in the state. 21.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.6% were from cancer and 10.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Heart disease	220	226
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	179	178
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	61	96
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	48	82
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	68
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	42
Alzheimer's disease	43	38
Diabetes mellitus	40	48
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	16
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	94	85