Volunteer State News

There were 65 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending April 2, 2022, a 10.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 2, 2022, there were 1,041 deaths in the state. 21% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.3% were from cancer and 7.8% 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	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022
Heart disease	219	234
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	159	177
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	65	59
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	64
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	48	71
Diabetes mellitus	36	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	45
Alzheimer's disease	30	45
Influenza and pneumonia	25	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	89	105