Pelican State News

There were 16 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, a 15.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, there were 837 deaths in the state. 24.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 1.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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 Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Heart disease	208	197
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	172	184
Cerebrovascular diseases	47	47
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	29
Diabetes mellitus	35	31
Alzheimer's disease	35	39
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	19
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	16	19
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	76	71