Yellowhammer Times

There were 17 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Jan. 29, a 19 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 29, there were 1,283 deaths in the state. 21.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.3 percent were from cancer and 45.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7 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 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	314	256
Heart disease	280	282
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	275	227
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	171	189
Cerebrovascular diseases	67	61
Alzheimer's disease	57	63
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	55
Diabetes mellitus	30	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	24
Influenza and pneumonia	17	21

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Alzheimer disease and dementia	112	112