Yellowhammer Times

There were 48 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Jan. 22, a 29.4 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 22, there were 1,055 deaths in the state. 22.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.7 percent were from cancer and 37 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2 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 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Heart disease	233	292
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	206	205
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	184	177
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	155	177
Alzheimer's disease	51	68
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	48	68
Cerebrovascular diseases	46	55
Diabetes mellitus	24	32
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	18
Influenza and pneumonia	20	17

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	86	125