The Sconi

There were 31 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending July 24, a 40.9 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 24, there were 1,066 deaths in the state. 20.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.3 percent were from cancer and 0.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7 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 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	238	190
Heart disease	219	202
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	56	41
Cerebrovascular diseases	45	47
Alzheimer's disease	33	32
Diabetes mellitus	31	22
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	19
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	10	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	93	88