Volunteer State News

There were 47 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 13% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 1,349 deaths in the state. 23.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.4% were from cancer and 4.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9% 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 June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Heart disease	323	280
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	275	259
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	73	73
Cerebrovascular diseases	71	82
Alzheimer's disease	47	54
Diabetes mellitus	38	29
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	38	37
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	21
Influenza and pneumonia	22	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	121	124