Magnolia State News

There were 36 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 12.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 645 deaths in the state. 24.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 14.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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 Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Heart disease	157	154
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	132	125
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	56	48
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	36	32
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	37
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	52
Alzheimer's disease	29	38
Influenza and pneumonia	11	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	20
Diabetes mellitus	11	22

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	55	64