Peach Tree Times

There were 42 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending July 24, a 2.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 24, there were 1,622 deaths in the state. 19 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.2 percent were from cancer and 8.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6 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)	360	332
Heart disease	308	350
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	89	82
Cerebrovascular diseases	83	90
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	74	48
Alzheimer's disease	69	76
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	63	40
Diabetes mellitus	42	43
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	40
Influenza and pneumonia	20	23

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	139	135