Pelican State News

There were 142 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending Jan. 22, a 42 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 22, there were 765 deaths in the state. 23.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.7 percent were from cancer and 40.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.6 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 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Heart disease	178	234
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	165	125
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	142	100
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	105	136
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	49
Alzheimer's disease	50	44
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	32
Diabetes mellitus	20	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	89	86