Volunteer State News

There were 81 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 19.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 1,547 deaths in the state. 19.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 10.1% 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 Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Heart disease	296	331
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	295	287
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	88	101
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	81	68
Cerebrovascular diseases	70	65
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	69	72
Alzheimer's disease	67	63
Diabetes mellitus	48	47
Influenza and pneumonia	25	15
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	19

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	146	143