Magnolia State News

There were 16 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending March 12, a 40.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 419 deaths in the state. 22.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 18.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	94	114
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	86	89
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	46	75
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	59
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	29	43
Alzheimer's disease	26	26
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	25
Diabetes mellitus	16	27
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	43	40