Natural State News

There were 42 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 684 deaths in the state. 24.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.4% were from cancer and 6.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6% 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 Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Heart disease	169	153
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	119	135
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	42
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	36
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	35
Diabetes mellitus	23	22
Alzheimer's disease	23	30
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	15
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	17	23
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	52	62