Magnolia State News

There were 34 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 36% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 511 deaths in the state. 26.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.9% were from cancer and 4.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4% 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 June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Heart disease	135	156
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	112	105
Alzheimer's disease	34	25
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	29
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	35
Diabetes mellitus	17	20
Influenza and pneumonia	14	15
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	13	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	43	42