Old Dominion News

There were 45 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending June 25, 2022, a 21.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, 2022, there were 1,247 deaths in the state. 19.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.4% were from cancer and 7.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.3% 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 June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	267	247
Heart disease	244	250
Cerebrovascular diseases	81	62
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	60	42
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	51	40
Alzheimer's disease	47	42
Diabetes mellitus	45	37
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	41	33
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	29
Influenza and pneumonia	15	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	141	123