Sunshine Sentinel

There were 54 deaths from diabetes mellitus reported in Florida in the week ending Jan. 29, making up 2.3 percent of total deaths by all causes in Florida, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 29, there were 2,327 deaths in the state. 16.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.4 percent were from cancer and 56.5 percent were from COVID-19.

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	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	693	29.8
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	621	26.7
Heart disease	391	16.8
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	336	14.4
Cerebrovascular diseases	116	5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	106	4.6
Alzheimer's disease	66	2.8
Diabetes mellitus	54	2.3
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	34	1.5
Influenza and pneumonia	18	0.8