Sunshine Sentinel

There were 31 deaths from Alzheimer's disease reported in Florida in the week ending Feb. 12, making up 2.2 percent of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 12, there were 1,406 deaths in the state. 17.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.3 percent were from cancer and 37.2 percent 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	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	283	20.1
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	258	18.3
Heart disease	247	17.6
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	240	17.1
Cerebrovascular diseases	113	8
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	61	4.3
Diabetes mellitus	37	2.6
Alzheimer's disease	31	2.2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	1.1
Influenza and pneumonia	12	0.9