Gem State Wire

There were 12 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Idaho during the week ending July 17, a 20 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 17, there were 298 deaths in the state. 20.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.4 percent were from cancer and 6.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7 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 2021-07-17	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10
Heart disease	62	52
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	49	53
Alzheimer's disease	19	11
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	16	12
Cerebrovascular diseases	16	14
Diabetes mellitus	12	10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	0	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	32	25