Grand Canyon Times

There were 48 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending May 28, 2022, a 4.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 28, 2022, there were 1,127 deaths in the state. 20.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 4% were from COVID-19.

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 May 28, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 21, 2022
Heart disease	235	237
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	233	227
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	62	60
Alzheimer's disease	48	46
Diabetes mellitus	42	36
Cerebrovascular diseases	40	64
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	29
Influenza and pneumonia	18	15
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	14
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	17