Magnolia State News

There were 38 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 5.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 655 deaths in the state. 25% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.1% were from cancer and 14.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.6% 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 July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Heart disease	164	168
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	112	106
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	58	50
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	38	36
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	40
Alzheimer's disease	30	28
Cerebrovascular diseases	30	34
Diabetes mellitus	22	27
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	43	48