Old Dominion News

There were 18 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending September 4, a 14.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 1,654 deaths in the state. 17.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.1 percent were from cancer and 23.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	299	301
Heart disease	294	307
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	203	177
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	193	166
Cerebrovascular diseases	84	73
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	63	60
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	43	32
Diabetes mellitus	43	47
Alzheimer's disease	36	54
Influenza and pneumonia	18	21

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	148	138