Great Lakes Wire

There were 53 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending March 12, a 18.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 1,222 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.3% were from cancer and 11.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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 March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	281	322
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	272	273
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	80	111
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	66	87
Cerebrovascular diseases	61	69
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	65
Alzheimer's disease	49	62
Diabetes mellitus	43	47
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	30
Influenza and pneumonia	14	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	97	128