Pelican State News

There were 32 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 13.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 608 deaths in the state. 27.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.4% were from cancer and 2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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 June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Heart disease	165	195
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	136	143
Cerebrovascular diseases	38	40
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	37
Alzheimer's disease	32	37
Diabetes mellitus	15	33
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	12	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	62	76