Peach Tree Times

There were 73 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending May 8, a 2.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 8, there were 1,645 deaths in the state. 20.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1 percent were from cancer and 11.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1 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 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Heart disease	338	357
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	330	313
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	101	109
Cerebrovascular diseases	91	93
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	86	88
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	73	75
Alzheimer's disease	67	78
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	39	49
Diabetes mellitus	39	39
Influenza and pneumonia	17	14

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Alzheimer disease and dementia	149	166