Volunteer State News

There were 26 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending November 6, a 10.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 6, there were 1,651 deaths in the state. 22.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.3 percent were from cancer and 17.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4 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 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
Heart disease	378	312
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	269	282
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	157	231
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	138	201
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	74	72
Cerebrovascular diseases	74	90
Alzheimer's disease	46	39
Diabetes mellitus	40	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	32	20
Influenza and pneumonia	26	29

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
Alzheimer disease and dementia	122	118