Volunteer State News

There were 12 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee in the week ending June 24, making up 0.8% of total deaths by all causes in Tennessee, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 1,475 deaths in the state. 22% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.5% were from cancer and 2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	324	22
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	287	19.5
Cerebrovascular diseases	79	5.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	77	5.2
Alzheimer's disease	62	4.2
Diabetes mellitus	37	2.5
Influenza and pneumonia	25	1.7
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	1.5
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	17	1.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	12	0.8

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	126	8.5