Sunshine Sentinel

There were 45 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 18.4% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 4,343 deaths in the state. 21% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.5% were from cancer and 9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Heart disease	912	880
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	848	876
Cerebrovascular diseases	307	301
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	246	283
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	184	204
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	147	176
Diabetes mellitus	132	113
Alzheimer's disease	120	113
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	58	73
Influenza and pneumonia	45	38

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	386	352