Natural State News

There were 12 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending September 18, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 18, there were 866 deaths in the state. 19.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.8 percent were from cancer and 37.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	168	186
Heart disease	166	158
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	159	180
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	137	120
Diabetes mellitus	34	32
Alzheimer's disease	31	32
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	37
Cerebrovascular diseases	29	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	21
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	66	54