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 Jan. 29, a 62.5 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 29, there were 2,156 deaths in the state. 21.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.1 percent were from cancer and 38.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2 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 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Heart disease	461	534
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	450	596
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	389	524
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	325	377
Cerebrovascular diseases	105	106
Alzheimer's disease	91	93
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	89	114
Diabetes mellitus	55	78
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	39	24
Influenza and pneumonia	19	22

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Alzheimer disease and dementia	176	187