Volunteer State News

There were 45 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 10% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 1,567 deaths in the state. 21.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 8.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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	333	315
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	302	282
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	83	97
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	82	82
Cerebrovascular diseases	68	71
Alzheimer's disease	49	57
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	47	67
Diabetes mellitus	45	50
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	28
Influenza and pneumonia	19	23

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	139	125