Yellowhammer Times

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 53.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 1,146 deaths in the state. 24.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.2% were from cancer and 3.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Heart disease	281	288
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	209	196
Cerebrovascular diseases	70	48
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	67
Alzheimer's disease	46	52
Diabetes mellitus	25	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	31
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	21	19
Influenza and pneumonia	20	22
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	20	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	100	99