Yellowhammer Times

There were 59 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending August 14, a 9.3 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 14, there were 1,379 deaths in the state. 19.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.7 percent were from cancer and 46.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.4 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 2021-08-14	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	331	220
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	315	206
Heart disease	270	276
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	217	193
Cerebrovascular diseases	70	70
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	59	54
Alzheimer's disease	50	43
Diabetes mellitus	34	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	19
Influenza and pneumonia	11	15

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07
Alzheimer disease and dementia	88	93