Grand Canyon Times

There were 54 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 14.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 1,288 deaths in the state. 19.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and 4.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.6% 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. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Heart disease	256	261
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	242	260
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	59	60
Alzheimer's disease	54	47
Cerebrovascular diseases	53	49
Diabetes mellitus	36	33
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	34	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	124	111