Peach Tree Times

There were 74 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending July 9, 2022, a 12.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 9, 2022, there were 1,347 deaths in the state. 22.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22% were from cancer and 6.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13.1% 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 July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Heart disease	302	322
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	297	278
Alzheimer's disease	74	66
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	71	76
Cerebrovascular diseases	66	65
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	48	53
Diabetes mellitus	39	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	40
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	37
Influenza and pneumonia	10	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	176	147