Pelican State News

There were less than 10 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending Feb. 5, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 5, there were 324 deaths in the state. 25.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.3 percent were from cancer and 33 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2022-02-05	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29
Heart disease	84	142
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	57	135
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	56	108
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	50	125
Alzheimer's disease	19	42
Cerebrovascular diseases	16	33
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	12	33
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	11
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	18