Natural State News

There were 13 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending June 24, a 30% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 634 deaths in the state. 24.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.1% were from cancer and less than 1.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.6% 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 June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	155	153
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	115	116
Cerebrovascular diseases	38	25
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	35
Diabetes mellitus	31	29
Alzheimer's disease	25	23
Influenza and pneumonia	13	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	42	47