Last Frontier News

There were less than 10 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Alaska during the week ending March 5, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 42 deaths in the state. Less than 23.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, less than 23.8% were from cancer and less than 23.8% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	0
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	11
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	< 10	12
Heart disease	< 10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	0	0
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	0	< 10