Yellowhammer Times

There were 33 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending November 20, a 50 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 20, there were 1,002 deaths in the state. 22.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.6 percent were from cancer and 8.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Heart disease	226	238
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	166	216
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	62	66
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	55
Alzheimer's disease	47	45
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	46	80
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	41	72
Diabetes mellitus	33	22
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	22
Influenza and pneumonia	10	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Alzheimer disease and dementia	98	89