Cornhusker State News

There were 12 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Nebraska during the week ending September 11, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 379 deaths in the state. 15.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.7 percent were from cancer and 20.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 5.3 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	71	72
Heart disease	60	62
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	39	33
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	31
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	23	15
Cerebrovascular diseases	14	11
Diabetes mellitus	12	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	20	27