Great Lakes Wire

There were 59 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Michigan during the week ending March 26, 2022, a 1.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 26, 2022, there were 1,251 deaths in the state. 25.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 7.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Heart disease	317	303
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	241	292
Cerebrovascular diseases	80	65
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	62	67
Alzheimer's disease	59	55
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	59	58
Diabetes mellitus	41	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	36	35
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	28
Influenza and pneumonia	12	18

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	122	115