Sunshine Sentinel

There were 161 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 1.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 3,025 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 3.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8% 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 April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Heart disease	697	678
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	650	701
Cerebrovascular diseases	263	241
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	161	163
Diabetes mellitus	79	106
Alzheimer's disease	74	78
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	64	72
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	46	46
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	44
Influenza and pneumonia	27	37

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	236	284