Old Dominion News

There were 41 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 14.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 1,459 deaths in the state. 21.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6% were from cancer and 8.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.1% 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 Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Heart disease	312	290
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	286	310
Cerebrovascular diseases	76	81
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	74	86
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	54	56
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	51	62
Alzheimer's disease	44	54
Diabetes mellitus	41	48
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	35
Influenza and pneumonia	14	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	148	157