Sunshine Sentinel

There were 174 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending June 25, 2022, a 12.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, 2022, there were 3,727 deaths in the state. 21.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.8% were from cancer and 11% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4% 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 June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	848	832
Heart disease	795	827
Cerebrovascular diseases	291	293
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	237	217
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	181	209
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	174	155
Diabetes mellitus	99	129
Alzheimer's disease	97	119
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	50	79
Influenza and pneumonia	40	55

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	312	358