Yellowhammer Times

There were 62 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Jan. 15, a 8.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 1,041 deaths in the state. 23.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.3 percent were from cancer and 31.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Heart disease	247	234
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	173	134
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	152	126
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	138	180
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	62	68
Alzheimer's disease	58	49
Cerebrovascular diseases	46	49
Diabetes mellitus	27	36
Influenza and pneumonia	15	22
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	20

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	106	81