Volunteer State News

There were 23 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending April 9, 2022, a 54.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 9, 2022, there were 1,054 deaths in the state. 20.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.9% were from cancer and 3.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.6% 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 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022
Heart disease	214	240
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	178	170
Cerebrovascular diseases	53	58
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	72
Alzheimer's disease	44	32
Diabetes mellitus	27	38
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	51
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	21
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	15	35
Influenza and pneumonia	11	28

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	101	94