Yellowhammer Times

There were 60 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending September 18, a 25 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 18, there were 1,527 deaths in the state. 19.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.4 percent were from cancer and 59.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.8 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 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	463	531
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	445	515
Heart disease	297	317
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	190	181
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	62	66
Alzheimer's disease	60	48
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	79
Influenza and pneumonia	23	32
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	23
Diabetes mellitus	22	29

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	90