Magnolia State News

There were 20 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 4.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 684 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 5.3% 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 Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	150	170
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	132	120
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38	41
Alzheimer's disease	34	26
Cerebrovascular diseases	34	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	18
Diabetes mellitus	20	21
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	19
Influenza and pneumonia	14	18
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	13	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	58	55