Minnesota State Wire

There were 21 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending September 18, a 25 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 18, there were 918 deaths in the state. 17.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.5 percent were from cancer and 17 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.5 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 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	216	194
Heart disease	160	168
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	84	66
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	72	60
Cerebrovascular diseases	39	40
Alzheimer's disease	36	51
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	35
Diabetes mellitus	21	28
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	96	106