Pelican State News

There were 14 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending September 11, a 16.7 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 995 deaths in the state. 18.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.3 percent were from cancer and 53.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	274	361
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	262	348
Heart disease	183	225
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	152	152
Alzheimer's disease	45	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	38	48
Diabetes mellitus	33	33
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	27	34
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	13
Influenza and pneumonia	14	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	87	71