Bay State News

There were 29 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Massachusetts during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 12.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 974 deaths in the state. 18% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.8% were from cancer and 7.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7% 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 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	203	229
Heart disease	175	187
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	44
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	40	40
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	33	15
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	33
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	31	29
Alzheimer's disease	29	33
Diabetes mellitus	18	20
Influenza and pneumonia	14	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	131