Mountain State Times

There were 18 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in West Virginia during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 14.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 443 deaths in the state. 20.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.7% were from cancer and 11.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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 Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Heart disease	89	86
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	83	75
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	31	26
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	28	29
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	21	17
Diabetes mellitus	18	21
Alzheimer's disease	14	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	14	18
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	10
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	36	35