Magnolia State News

There were 14 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Dec. 18, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 18, there were 590 deaths in the state. 21 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2 percent were from cancer and 12.9 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 2021-12-18	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11
Heart disease	124	144
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	113	114
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	38
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	39
Cerebrovascular diseases	36	24
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	25
Alzheimer's disease	26	28
Diabetes mellitus	22	25
Influenza and pneumonia	14	20
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	40	58