Pelican State News

There were 149 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending June 24, a 14.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 752 deaths in the state. 27.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8% were from cancer and less than 1.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6% 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 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	206	211
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	149	175
Diabetes mellitus	49	31
Cerebrovascular diseases	36	40
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	32
Alzheimer's disease	21	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	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 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	57	77