Pine State News

There were 66 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maine during the week ending June 25, 2022, a 17.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, 2022, there were 295 deaths in the state. 22.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.7% were from cancer and less than 3.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2% 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 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	67	65
Heart disease	66	56
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	16	17
Cerebrovascular diseases	16	16
Alzheimer's disease	12	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	11	13
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	27	25