Magnolia State News

There were 35 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 20.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 626 deaths in the state. 26.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.8% were from cancer and 13.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.3% 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 July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Heart disease	166	190
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	105	124
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	49	42
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	40	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	29
Cerebrovascular diseases	34	21
Alzheimer's disease	27	25
Diabetes mellitus	26	21
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	46	42