Garden State Times

There were 35 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 12.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 1,471 deaths in the state. 22.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and 6.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6% 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 Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Heart disease	325	313
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	277	303
Cerebrovascular diseases	84	53
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	55	47
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	45
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	46	29
Alzheimer's disease	38	36
Diabetes mellitus	35	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	28
Influenza and pneumonia	23	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	112	102