Magnolia State News

There were 14 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a 44% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 647 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 2.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6% 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 Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Heart disease	152	155
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	139	126
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	49	50
Alzheimer's disease	35	35
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	34
Diabetes mellitus	23	22
Influenza and pneumonia	21	18
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	14	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	49	51