Yellowhammer Times

There were 44 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 13.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 998 deaths in the state. 26.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 10.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4% 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	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Heart disease	261	248
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	193	152
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	60	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	54	53
Alzheimer's disease	50	49
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	47	33
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	51
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	21
Diabetes mellitus	22	22
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	84	91