There were 38 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Texas during the week ending Jan. 15, a 71.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 913 deaths in the state. 17.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6 percent were from cancer and 35.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.2 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	170	507
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	168	398
Heart disease	160	504
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	155	359
Cerebrovascular diseases	42	148
Alzheimer's disease	38	134
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	137
Diabetes mellitus	24	71
Influenza and pneumonia	18	35
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	37

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	102	263