Yellowhammer Times

There were 214 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, a 22.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, there were 1,077 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9% were from cancer and 4.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.5% 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 Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Heart disease	253	268
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	214	175
Cerebrovascular diseases	85	49
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	49	65
Alzheimer's disease	35	45
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	44
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	29
Diabetes mellitus	22	32
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	27
Influenza and pneumonia	19	18

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	81	109