Sunshine Sentinel

There were 85 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending May 14, 2022, a 29.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 14, 2022, there were 2,954 deaths in the state. 20.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7% were from cancer and 4% 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	Deaths in Week Ending May 14, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 7, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	641	753
Heart disease	604	786
Cerebrovascular diseases	226	250
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	167	195
Diabetes mellitus	85	120
Alzheimer's disease	84	98
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	70	81
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	47	55
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	52
Influenza and pneumonia	34	42