The Sconi

There were 37 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending November 20, a 9.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 20, there were 1,336 deaths in the state. 18.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.3 percent were from cancer and 27.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10 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 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Heart disease	248	240
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	218	231
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	204	167
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	162	138
Alzheimer's disease	62	71
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	57
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	47
Diabetes mellitus	37	41
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	13
Influenza and pneumonia	10	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Alzheimer disease and dementia	133	154