Great Lakes Wire

There were 86 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending May 8, a 2.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 8, there were 2,204 deaths in the state. 21.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.2 percent were from cancer and 33.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.4 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 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Heart disease	482	447
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	381	429
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	358	378
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	349	388
Cerebrovascular diseases	90	109
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	86	84
Alzheimer's disease	78	73
Diabetes mellitus	72	69
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	33
Influenza and pneumonia	18	19

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Alzheimer disease and dementia	142	151