Evergreen Reporter

There were 38 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, a 8.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, there were 1,247 deaths in the state. 20.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2% were from cancer and 4.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4% 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 Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Heart disease	255	210
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	252	275
Cerebrovascular diseases	69	66
Alzheimer's disease	60	70
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	54
Diabetes mellitus	38	35
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	34	34
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	18	18
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	14
Influenza and pneumonia	12	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	130	134