Magnolia State News

There were 34 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 9.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 652 deaths in the state. 25.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6% were from cancer and 9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Heart disease	164	157
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	121	109
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	48
Cerebrovascular diseases	36	32
Alzheimer's disease	34	31
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	36
Diabetes mellitus	23	15
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	10	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	58	51