Natural State News

There were 27 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 28.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 620 deaths in the state. 21.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.7% were from cancer and 10.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4% 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 Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Heart disease	131	126
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	116	100
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	36
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	36
Cerebrovascular diseases	29	28
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	27	21
Alzheimer's disease	25	29
Diabetes mellitus	21	22
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	15
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	46	53