Pelican State News

There were 31 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 6.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 827 deaths in the state. 23.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.2% were from cancer and 4.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	197	234
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	184	181
Cerebrovascular diseases	47	45
Alzheimer's disease	39	42
Diabetes mellitus	31	33
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	29	44
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	15
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	19	17
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	71	71