Natural State News

There were 12 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, a 33.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, there were 665 deaths in the state. 20.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.6% were from cancer and 3.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	137	129
Heart disease	136	171
Alzheimer's disease	32	24
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	46
Cerebrovascular diseases	31	34
Diabetes mellitus	25	22
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	10
Influenza and pneumonia	16	10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	12	18
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	65	61