Magnolia State News

There were 24 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending July 9, 2022, a 14.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 9, 2022, there were 574 deaths in the state. 30.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9% were from cancer and 12.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.1% 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 July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Heart disease	177	132
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	114	118
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	25
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	37
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	13
Alzheimer's disease	24	28
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	26
Diabetes mellitus	18	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	41	55