Great Lakes Wire

There were 94 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Dec. 25, a 8.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 25, there were 2,150 deaths in the state. 18.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.9 percent were from cancer and 52 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.2 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 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	582	735
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	536	674
Heart disease	400	492
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	320	344
Cerebrovascular diseases	96	111
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	94	103
Alzheimer's disease	79	103
Diabetes mellitus	55	70
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	33
Influenza and pneumonia	23	31

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	154	202