Magnolia State News

There were 25 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Feb. 19, a 10.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 19, there were 559 deaths in the state. 20.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.8 percent were from cancer and 45.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.5 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 2022-02-19	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	137	203
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	118	169
Heart disease	117	152
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	94	101
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	27
Cerebrovascular diseases	25	28
Diabetes mellitus	22	21
Alzheimer's disease	22	33
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	15

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12
Alzheimer disease and dementia	42	59