Magnolia State News

There were 39 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Jan. 22, a 23.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 22, there were 762 deaths in the state. 19.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.3 percent were from cancer and 50 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9 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 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	205	186
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	176	155
Heart disease	147	156
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	101	138
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	39	51
Alzheimer's disease	34	46
Diabetes mellitus	31	24
Cerebrovascular diseases	31	32
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	17
Influenza and pneumonia	11	17

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	60	68