Peach Tree Times

There were 67 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending March 12, a 21.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 1,060 deaths in the state. 22% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.1% were from cancer and 15.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	233	298
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	181	230
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	92	141
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	70	119
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	55
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	65
Alzheimer's disease	51	57
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	39	22
Diabetes mellitus	26	33
Influenza and pneumonia	11	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	92	107