Natural State News

There were 38 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending March 12, a 2.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 486 deaths in the state. 20.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.6% were from cancer and 16.3% 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 March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	101	139
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	76	92
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	57
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38	39
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	49
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	23
Alzheimer's disease	26	27
Diabetes mellitus	15	31
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	18

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	44	55