Garden State Times

There were 39 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending Jan. 29, a 39.1 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 29, there were 1,891 deaths in the state. 19.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15 percent were from cancer and 48.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9 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 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	495	714
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	422	619
Heart disease	361	435
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	284	324
Cerebrovascular diseases	83	73
Alzheimer's disease	66	72
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	67
Diabetes mellitus	39	64
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	33
Influenza and pneumonia	20	26

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Alzheimer disease and dementia	171	165