Sunshine Sentinel

There were 128 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 16.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 4,376 deaths in the state. 19.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 7.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	940	850
Heart disease	840	933
Cerebrovascular diseases	330	311
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	213	254
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	210	188
Diabetes mellitus	137	133
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	128	153
Alzheimer's disease	101	120
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	76	58
Influenza and pneumonia	53	45

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	344	389