Peach Tree Times

There were 377 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending Jan. 29, a 15.1 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 29, there were 1,568 deaths in the state. 19.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14 percent were from cancer and 50.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8 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 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	408	483
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	377	444
Heart disease	307	356
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	220	299
Cerebrovascular diseases	76	117
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	63	90
Alzheimer's disease	57	96
Diabetes mellitus	38	54
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	26	24
Influenza and pneumonia	21	22

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Alzheimer disease and dementia	123	198