Pelican State News

There were 40 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending May 15, 2021, a 73.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 15, 2021, there were 815 deaths in the state. 22.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4% were from cancer and 9.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2% 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	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021
Heart disease	184	199
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	158	161
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	49
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	40	23
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	22
Alzheimer's disease	35	35
Diabetes mellitus	27	33
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	26	38
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	22
Influenza and pneumonia	15	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	67	64