Magnolia State News

There were 82 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Feb. 26, a 50.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 26, there were 504 deaths in the state. 23 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.1 percent were from cancer and 29.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7 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 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Heart disease	116	149
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	82	166
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	81	128
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	66	134
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	40
Alzheimer's disease	28	25
Cerebrovascular diseases	22	32
Influenza and pneumonia	15	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	11	26

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	44	55