Volunteer State News

There were 41 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, a 33.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, there were 1,642 deaths in the state. 21.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.3% were from cancer and 5.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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 Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Heart disease	355	323
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	301	283
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	98	71
Cerebrovascular diseases	80	85
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	61	62
Alzheimer's disease	44	67
Diabetes mellitus	41	62
Influenza and pneumonia	37	21
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	36	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	28

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	130	139