Peach Tree Times

There were 45 deaths from Alzheimer's disease reported in Georgia in the week ending Sept. 17, making up 5.2% of total deaths by all causes in Georgia, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, there were 861 deaths in the state. 20% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 25.7% were from cancer and 7.4% were from COVID-19.

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	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	221	25.7
Heart disease	172	20
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	5.6
Alzheimer's disease	45	5.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	41	4.8
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	38	4.4
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	3
Diabetes mellitus	24	2.8
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	2.4
Influenza and pneumonia	10	1.2