Great Lakes Wire

There were 65 deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases reported in Michigan in the week ending June 25, making up 4.9% of total deaths by all causes in Michigan, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, there were 1,338 deaths in the state. 24.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.7% were from cancer and 5.9% 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	326	24.4
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	317	23.7
Alzheimer's disease	71	5.3
Cerebrovascular diseases	67	5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	65	4.9
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	53	4
Diabetes mellitus	39	2.9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	30	2.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	1.9
Influenza and pneumonia	19	1.4