Great Lakes Wire

There were 75 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Jan. 15, a 2.7 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 2,064 deaths in the state. 21.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.4 percent were from cancer and 43.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	472	584
Heart disease	437	514
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	419	523
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	317	348
Cerebrovascular diseases	95	105
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	80	101
Alzheimer's disease	75	73
Diabetes mellitus	52	82
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	31	40
Influenza and pneumonia	28	30

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	152	166