Yellowhammer Times

There were 38 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending May 1, a 2.7 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 1, there were 1,132 deaths in the state. 25.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6 percent were from cancer and 7.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.3 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 2021-05-01	Number of Deaths 2021-04-24
Heart disease	285	267
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	211	200
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	61	49
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	53
Alzheimer's disease	48	44
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	44
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	38	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	25	13
Diabetes mellitus	23	32
Influenza and pneumonia	20	23

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01	Number of Deaths 2021-04-24
Alzheimer disease and dementia	83	81