Volunteer State News

There were 59 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 23.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 1,441 deaths in the state. 21.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5% were from cancer and 9.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Heart disease	304	284
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	266	281
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	82	74
Cerebrovascular diseases	75	79
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	59	77
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	57	53
Diabetes mellitus	56	39
Alzheimer's disease	44	52
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	12
Influenza and pneumonia	19	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	136	135