Great Lakes Wire

There were 31 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan in the week ending May 21, making up 2.7% of total deaths by all causes in Michigan, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 21, there were 1,162 deaths in the state. 23.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.2% were from cancer and 6.4% 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	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	276	23.8
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	258	22.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	63	5.4
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	5
Alzheimer's disease	47	4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	3.7
Diabetes mellitus	33	2.8
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	31	2.7
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	2.1
Influenza and pneumonia	15	1.3