Peach Tree Times

There were 829 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending September 18, a 4.4 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 18, there were 2,584 deaths in the state. 16.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 11.7 percent were from cancer and 65.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.3 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 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	867	916
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	829	867
Heart disease	417	428
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	302	352
Cerebrovascular diseases	101	104
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	89	102
Alzheimer's disease	73	82
Diabetes mellitus	65	63
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	54	49
Influenza and pneumonia	28	34

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	163	174