Evergreen Reporter

There were 42 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending July 9, 2022, a 10.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 9, 2022, there were 1,066 deaths in the state. 18.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.2% were from cancer and 7.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.4% 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 July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	247	214
Heart disease	199	226
Cerebrovascular diseases	69	47
Alzheimer's disease	56	57
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	51
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	51	58
Diabetes mellitus	42	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	43
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	15
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	121	124