There were 159 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Texas during the week ending July 10, a 19.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 10, there were 4,113 deaths in the state. 19.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9 percent were from cancer and 7.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3 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 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	818	868
Heart disease	818	805
Cerebrovascular diseases	226	220
Alzheimer's disease	181	193
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	160	173
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	159	198
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	136	146
Diabetes mellitus	121	130
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	77	79
Influenza and pneumonia	50	51

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Alzheimer disease and dementia	384	369