Minnesota State Wire

There were 27 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending November 6, a 15.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 6, there were 974 deaths in the state. 14.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9 percent were from cancer and 26.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11 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 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	194	192
Heart disease	145	148
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	142	141
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	120	128
Alzheimer's disease	54	55
Cerebrovascular diseases	54	43
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	40	60
Diabetes mellitus	27	32
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
Alzheimer disease and dementia	107	124