Magnolia State News

There were 282 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending September 4, a 7.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 931 deaths in the state. 16.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.4 percent were from cancer and 63.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.2 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 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	305	323
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	282	305
Heart disease	155	172
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	125	113
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	39	46
Alzheimer's disease	36	32
Diabetes mellitus	28	34
Cerebrovascular diseases	27	31
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	20

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	58	59