Sunshine Sentinel

There were 2,596 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending September 4, a 2.1 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 7,126 deaths in the state. 14.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.6 percent were from cancer and 75.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 5.2 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 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	901	895
Cerebrovascular diseases	312	329
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	217	211
Diabetes mellitus	182	199
Alzheimer's disease	129	143
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	69	82
Influenza and pneumonia	56	47
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	2,596	2,653
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	2,765	2,803
Heart disease	1,015	953

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	372	414