Volunteer State News

There were 48 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending July 30, 2022, a 11.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 30, 2022, there were 1,499 deaths in the state. 21.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.3% were from cancer and 10.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8% 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 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Heart disease	316	295
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	274	299
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	94	92
Cerebrovascular diseases	78	84
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	64	78
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	64	69
Diabetes mellitus	48	41
Alzheimer's disease	48	54
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	30	19
Influenza and pneumonia	17	25

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	120	135