Peach Tree Times

There were 70 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending May 1, a 25.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 1, there were 1,600 deaths in the state. 21.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19 percent were from cancer and 11.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01	Number of Deaths 2021-04-24
Heart disease	339	358
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	304	354
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	105	112
Cerebrovascular diseases	88	88
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	86	89
Alzheimer's disease	77	67
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	70	94
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	47	32
Diabetes mellitus	36	47
Influenza and pneumonia	12	18

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01	Number of Deaths 2021-04-24
Alzheimer disease and dementia	158	146