Pine State News

There were 55 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Maine during the week ending Jan. 1, a 22.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 1, there were 386 deaths in the state. 16.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9 percent were from cancer and 30.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.1 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2022-01-01	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	73	72
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	63	74
Heart disease	62	69
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	55	71
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	18	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	15	15
Cerebrovascular diseases	10	15
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-01	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25
Alzheimer disease and dementia	43	40