Grand Canyon Times

There were 39 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Arizona during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 25% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 1,236 deaths in the state. 20% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.6% were from cancer and 4.9% 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	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	254	249
Heart disease	247	245
Cerebrovascular diseases	64	54
Alzheimer's disease	52	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	49
Diabetes mellitus	44	33
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	39	52
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	21	33
Influenza and pneumonia	16	16
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	122	108