Great Lakes Wire

There were 332 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan in the week ending Jan. 15, making up 20.6 percent of total deaths by all causes in Michigan, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 1,614 deaths in the state. 21 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.5 percent were from cancer and 43.9 percent were from COVID-19.

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	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	377	23.4
Heart disease	339	21
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	332	20.6
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	267	16.5
Cerebrovascular diseases	72	4.5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	68	4.2
Alzheimer's disease	59	3.7
Diabetes mellitus	35	2.2
Influenza and pneumonia	21	1.3
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	1