Magnolia State News

There were 14 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending September 11, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 985 deaths in the state. 19.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12 percent were from cancer and 58.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.4 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	298	308
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	280	285
Heart disease	193	155
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	118	125
Cerebrovascular diseases	38	27
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	41
Alzheimer's disease	34	36
Diabetes mellitus	30	29
Influenza and pneumonia	14	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	63	58