Great Lakes Wire

There were 39 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending May 22, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 22, there were 2,141 deaths in the state. 21.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9 percent were from cancer and 23.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8 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 2021-05-22	Number of Deaths 2021-05-15
Heart disease	452	457
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	404	380
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	268	336
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	237	308
Cerebrovascular diseases	112	102
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	90	97
Alzheimer's disease	83	69
Diabetes mellitus	63	60
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	39	39
Influenza and pneumonia	23	20

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-22	Number of Deaths 2021-05-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	167	152