Pelican State News

There were 38 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending May 8, a 2.7 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 8, there were 799 deaths in the state. 23.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20 percent were from cancer and 5.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Heart disease	191	207
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	160	181
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	46
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38	37
Alzheimer's disease	35	40
Diabetes mellitus	32	34
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	43
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	18
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	40
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Alzheimer disease and dementia	64	74