Magnolia State News

There were 15 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 690 deaths in the state. 23.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.1% were from cancer and 6.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4% 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 Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	165	153
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	125	117
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	41
Alzheimer's disease	32	38
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	31	25
Diabetes mellitus	29	14
Cerebrovascular diseases	28	40
Influenza and pneumonia	15	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	15	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	51	56