Pelican State News

There were 39 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending August 14, a 13.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 14, there were 1,158 deaths in the state. 18.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.6 percent were from cancer and 59.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7 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 2021-08-14	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	355	284
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	335	270
Heart disease	211	236
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	157	157
Alzheimer's disease	46	44
Diabetes mellitus	42	33
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	39	45
Cerebrovascular diseases	39	35
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	16
Influenza and pneumonia	10	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07
Alzheimer disease and dementia	81	71