Magnolia State News

There were 35 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 2.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 606 deaths in the state. 25.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8% were from cancer and 10.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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 Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Heart disease	157	158
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	120	132
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	56
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	34
Cerebrovascular diseases	28	35
Alzheimer's disease	26	29
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	36
Diabetes mellitus	20	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	11
Influenza and pneumonia	10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	49	56