Beehive State News

There were 16 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Utah during the week ending June 25, 2022, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, 2022, there were 349 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2% were from cancer and 5.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% 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 June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Heart disease	75	80
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	67	69
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	16	16
Alzheimer's disease	16	22
Cerebrovascular diseases	13	17
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	12	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	36	38