Sunshine Sentinel

There were 119 deaths from Alzheimer's disease reported in Florida in the week ending May 1, making up 2.7 percent of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 1, there were 4,443 deaths in the state. 19.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6 percent were from cancer and 14.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3 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	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	872	19.6
Heart disease	870	19.6
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	334	7.5
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	305	6.9
Cerebrovascular diseases	283	6.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	202	4.5
Diabetes mellitus	124	2.8
Alzheimer's disease	119	2.7
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	77	1.7
Influenza and pneumonia	49	1.1

Cause of Death	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	368	8.3