Minnesota State Wire

There were 31 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending August 28, a 6.1 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 28, there were 847 deaths in the state. 18.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8 percent were from cancer and 11.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4 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 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	185	177
Heart disease	154	127
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	53	33
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	56
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	45	29
Alzheimer's disease	36	38
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	44
Diabetes mellitus	31	33
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Alzheimer disease and dementia	80	88