Great Lakes Wire

There were 40 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending November 20, a 53.8 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 20, there were 2,541 deaths in the state. 21.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.3 percent were from cancer and 36.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.1 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 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Heart disease	555	505
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	493	462
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	431	430
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	413	430
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	114	99
Cerebrovascular diseases	101	113
Alzheimer's disease	89	112
Diabetes mellitus	69	71
Influenza and pneumonia	40	26
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	32	44

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Alzheimer disease and dementia	180	200