Pelican State News

There were 31 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending June 17, a 63.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 803 deaths in the state. 26.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8% were from cancer and less than 1.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.6% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Heart disease	211	188
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	175	161
Cerebrovascular diseases	40	40
Alzheimer's disease	37	42
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	43
Diabetes mellitus	31	19
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	77	89