Yellowhammer Times

There were 52 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending August 7, a 5.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 7, there were 1,262 deaths in the state. 21.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.2 percent were from cancer and 33.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.2 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 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Heart disease	274	254
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	217	102
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	203	96
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	192	190
Cerebrovascular diseases	70	49
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	55
Alzheimer's disease	43	51
Diabetes mellitus	29	28
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	23
Influenza and pneumonia	14	16

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Alzheimer disease and dementia	91	101