Yellowhammer Times

There were 71 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, a 20.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, there were 1,117 deaths in the state. 24.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.8% were from cancer and 2.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8% 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 Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Heart disease	278	289
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	177	190
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	71	59
Cerebrovascular diseases	69	62
Alzheimer's disease	40	46
Diabetes mellitus	31	18
Influenza and pneumonia	17	15
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	17	26
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	29
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	13	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	87	90