Sunshine Sentinel

There were 45 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 22.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 4,522 deaths in the state. 20.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20% were from cancer and 12.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.1% 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 Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Heart disease	924	853
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	905	887
Cerebrovascular diseases	344	299
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	337	333
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	228	218
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	201	210
Diabetes mellitus	145	121
Alzheimer's disease	106	134
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	64	67
Influenza and pneumonia	45	58

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	319	391