Magnolia State News

There were 43 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending August 7, a 59.3 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 7, there were 812 deaths in the state. 15.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.3 percent were from cancer and 41.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.8 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 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	175	92
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	161	84
Heart disease	127	156
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	116	108
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	43	27
Cerebrovascular diseases	37	23
Diabetes mellitus	33	29
Alzheimer's disease	30	39
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	13
Influenza and pneumonia	13	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Alzheimer disease and dementia	55	57