Grand Canyon Times

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending June 24, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 1,217 deaths in the state. 20% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6% were from cancer and 1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2% 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 June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	243	268
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	238	254
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	51
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	56
Diabetes mellitus	41	28
Alzheimer's disease	38	46
Influenza and pneumonia	16	17
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	12	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	15
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	100	128