Volunteer State News

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending June 17, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 1,502 deaths in the state. 20.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9% were from cancer and 0.7% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Heart disease	307	331
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	299	269
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	84	88
Cerebrovascular diseases	76	55
Alzheimer's disease	52	51
Diabetes mellitus	44	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	32	23
Influenza and pneumonia	19	28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	11	19
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	137	124