Volunteer State News

There were 45 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, a 22.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, there were 1,624 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8% were from cancer and 6.8% 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 Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Heart disease	349	331
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	289	297
Cerebrovascular diseases	80	85
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	78	74
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	66	88
Diabetes mellitus	48	41
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	45	58
Alzheimer's disease	43	58
Influenza and pneumonia	20	13
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	22

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	148	167