Sunshine Sentinel

There were 62 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending July 2, 2022, a 8.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 2, 2022, there were 3,711 deaths in the state. 21.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21% were from cancer and 10% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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 July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Heart disease	794	878
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	781	911
Cerebrovascular diseases	310	299
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	224	263
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	170	189
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	147	191
Alzheimer's disease	122	99
Diabetes mellitus	115	112
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	62	57
Influenza and pneumonia	40	44

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	379	326