Grand Canyon Times

There were 23 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Arizona during the week ending June 17, a 27.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 1,230 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 3.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Heart disease	268	308
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	254	251
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	56	61
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	59
Alzheimer's disease	46	42
Diabetes mellitus	28	48
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	18
Influenza and pneumonia	17	13
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	128	109