Volunteer State News

There were 55 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a 34.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 1,567 deaths in the state. 20.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.1% were from cancer and 6.1% 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 Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Heart disease	327	355
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	253	301
Cerebrovascular diseases	97	80
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	89	98
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	61	61
Diabetes mellitus	55	41
Alzheimer's disease	49	44
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	36
Influenza and pneumonia	34	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	140	130