Magnolia State News

There were 31 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending April 16, 2022, a 22.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 16, 2022, there were 450 deaths in the state. 26.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 4.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6% 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 April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Heart disease	120	131
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	93	91
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	40
Cerebrovascular diseases	28	28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	22	20
Diabetes mellitus	17	18
Alzheimer's disease	17	28
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	34	43