Yellowhammer Times

There were 65 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 27.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 1,093 deaths in the state. 24.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16% were from cancer and 6.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10% 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 Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Heart disease	268	265
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	175	203
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	65	51
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	76
Alzheimer's disease	45	56
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	44	43
Diabetes mellitus	32	21
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	23
Influenza and pneumonia	18	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	116