Volunteer State News

There were 66 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, a 4.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, there were 1,573 deaths in the state. 18.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.4% were from cancer and 9.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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 Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Heart disease	291	327
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	290	292
Cerebrovascular diseases	96	80
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	90	87
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	79	69
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	66	69
Alzheimer's disease	50	55
Diabetes mellitus	43	39
Influenza and pneumonia	28	15
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	19

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	128	160