Volunteer State News

There were 79 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, a 19.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, there were 1,598 deaths in the state. 21.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.3% were from cancer and 8.3% 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 Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Heart disease	345	349
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	293	289
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	79	66
Cerebrovascular diseases	77	80
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	64	78
Alzheimer's disease	59	43
Diabetes mellitus	58	48
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	53	45
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	31	19
Influenza and pneumonia	22	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	150	148