Pine State News

There were 57 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Maine during the week ending July 9, 2022, a 3.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 9, 2022, there were 278 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 3.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.5% 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 July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Heart disease	64	57
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	57	55
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	17	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	10	13
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	15
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	32	26