Great Lakes Wire

There were 42 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Michigan in the week ending Dec. 17, making up 4.1% of total deaths by all causes in Michigan, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 17, there were 1,030 deaths in the state. 24.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.9% were from cancer and 6.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 18.6% 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	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	251	24.4
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	226	21.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	5
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	5
Alzheimer's disease	44	4.3
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	4.1
Diabetes mellitus	33	3.2
Influenza and pneumonia	22	2.1
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	21	2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	1.9

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	192	18.6