Grand Canyon Times

There were 52 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 3.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 1,249 deaths in the state. 19.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.5% were from cancer and 3.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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 Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Heart disease	239	244
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	219	255
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	69	75
Cerebrovascular diseases	62	57
Alzheimer's disease	52	54
Diabetes mellitus	39	36
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	30	48
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	19	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	16
Influenza and pneumonia	13	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	118	138