Pelican State News

There were 21 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 30% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 722 deaths in the state. 26.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.1% were from cancer and 7.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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 Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Heart disease	189	189
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	167	146
Cerebrovascular diseases	40	46
Alzheimer's disease	35	37
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	37
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	31	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	28
Diabetes mellitus	21	30
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	18
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	67	63