Great Lakes Wire

There were 305 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending May 15, 2021, a 13.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 15, 2021, there were 2,109 deaths in the state. 21.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18% were from cancer and 30.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.2% 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	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021
Heart disease	450	483
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	380	360
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	333	384
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	305	352
Cerebrovascular diseases	101	92
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	97	86
Alzheimer's disease	68	79
Diabetes mellitus	60	74
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	39	27
Influenza and pneumonia	20	18

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	151	143