Volunteer State News

There were 62 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 29.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 1,542 deaths in the state. 20.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.4% were from cancer and 6.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 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 Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	323	332
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	283	275
Cerebrovascular diseases	85	79
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	71	77
Alzheimer's disease	67	59
Diabetes mellitus	62	48
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	62	57
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	42
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	21
Influenza and pneumonia	21	32

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	139	161