Natural State News

There were 24 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, a 4.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, there were 703 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.4% were from cancer and 8.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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 Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Heart disease	151	167
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	122	143
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	38	35
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	32
Alzheimer's disease	27	26
Diabetes mellitus	24	33
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	17
Influenza and pneumonia	13	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	72	61