Peach Tree Times

There were 896 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Georgia during the week ending September 11, a 6.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 2,674 deaths in the state. 15.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.9 percent were from cancer and 65.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.4 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	896	959
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	848	905
Heart disease	417	447
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	344	339
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	101	103
Cerebrovascular diseases	101	86
Alzheimer's disease	82	86
Diabetes mellitus	62	63
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	48	42
Influenza and pneumonia	34	32

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	172	166