Volunteer State News

There were 286 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 4% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 1,552 deaths in the state. 20.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.4% were from cancer and 11% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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 Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Heart disease	322	322
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	286	275
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	100	94
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	71	64
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	65
Cerebrovascular diseases	64	80
Alzheimer's disease	63	48
Diabetes mellitus	47	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	30
Influenza and pneumonia	15	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	142	120