Sunshine Sentinel

There were 143 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending March 26, 2022, a 12.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 26, 2022, there were 3,000 deaths in the state. 20.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8% were from cancer and 6.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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 March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	654	653
Heart disease	619	698
Cerebrovascular diseases	214	195
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	143	164
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	123	149
Alzheimer's disease	110	98
Diabetes mellitus	91	105
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	85	110
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	52	46
Influenza and pneumonia	34	35

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	273	278