Volunteer State News

There were 30 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending September 11, a 6.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 2,301 deaths in the state. 16.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 10.6 percent were from cancer and 58 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 5.9 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	682	628
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	652	592
Heart disease	378	379
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	244	272
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	89	83
Cerebrovascular diseases	86	80
Diabetes mellitus	54	60
Alzheimer's disease	54	67
Influenza and pneumonia	30	32
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	23

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	136	153