Natural State News

There were 29 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 11.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 611 deaths in the state. 20.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 12.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2% 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. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Heart disease	123	139
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	118	129
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	45	33
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	43	35
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	22
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	26
Alzheimer's disease	28	27
Diabetes mellitus	14	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	18
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	56	63