Volunteer State News

There were 66 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending July 9, 2022, a 26.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 9, 2022, there were 1,265 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20% were from cancer and 9.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4% 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 July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	253	255
Heart disease	245	286
Cerebrovascular diseases	73	58
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	66	52
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	65	56
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	49	38
Alzheimer's disease	47	61
Diabetes mellitus	33	36
Influenza and pneumonia	15	20
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	131	127