Pelican State News

There were 153 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 4.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 738 deaths in the state. 24.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 8.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% 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 July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Heart disease	178	221
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	153	146
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	34
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	40
Alzheimer's disease	39	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	36	37
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	27	27
Diabetes mellitus	24	16
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	21
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	73	69