Natural State News

There were 31 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 29.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 710 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.7% were from cancer and 3.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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 Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	167	151
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	126	122
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	37
Alzheimer's disease	32	27
Diabetes mellitus	31	24
Cerebrovascular diseases	29	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	38
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	18
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	24

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	60	72