Volunteer State News

There were 54 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending March 26, 2022, a 22.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 26, 2022, there were 990 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.3% were from cancer and 11.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.1% 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 March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Heart disease	217	235
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	171	204
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	71	77
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	41
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	54	70
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	45	54
Alzheimer's disease	43	39
Diabetes mellitus	31	39
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	14
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	100	97