Volunteer State News

There were 77 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 20.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 1,581 deaths in the state. 22.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.2% were from cancer and 5.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	350	345
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	288	293
Cerebrovascular diseases	83	77
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	77	64
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	57	79
Alzheimer's disease	52	59
Diabetes mellitus	46	58
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	53
Influenza and pneumonia	23	22
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	31

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	137	150