Natural State News

There were 46 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending June 25, 2022, a 27.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, 2022, there were 573 deaths in the state. 26.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.6% were from cancer and 2.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Heart disease	154	153
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	124	105
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	36
Alzheimer's disease	28	29
Diabetes mellitus	26	21
Cerebrovascular diseases	24	31
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	15	17
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	51	70