Sunshine Sentinel

There were 202 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending May 1, 2021, a 3.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 1, 2021, there were 4,443 deaths in the state. 19.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6% were from cancer and 14.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3% 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 May 1, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending April 24, 2021
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	872	937
Heart disease	870	940
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	334	382
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	305	342
Cerebrovascular diseases	283	284
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	202	195
Diabetes mellitus	124	139
Alzheimer's disease	119	127
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	77	69
Influenza and pneumonia	49	60

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 1, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending April 24, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	368	380