Great Lakes Wire

There were 26 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Michigan in the week ending June 24, making up 1.4% of total deaths by all causes in Michigan, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 1,814 deaths in the state. 24.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2% were from cancer and 2.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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	452	24.9
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	367	20.2
Cerebrovascular diseases	107	5.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	87	4.8
Alzheimer's disease	82	4.5
Diabetes mellitus	63	3.5
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	31	1.7
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	26	1.4
Influenza and pneumonia	19	1
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	13	0.7

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	154	8.5