Grand Canyon Times

There were 64 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 12.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 1,356 deaths in the state. 18.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.3% were from cancer and 7.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2% 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 July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Heart disease	252	272
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	235	249
Cerebrovascular diseases	75	67
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	64	57
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	59	54
Alzheimer's disease	51	48
Diabetes mellitus	45	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	42	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	125	123