Great Lakes Wire

There were 286 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending April 30, 2022, a 15.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 30, 2022, there were 1,315 deaths in the state. 25.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7% were from cancer and 5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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 April 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022
Heart disease	332	403
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	286	340
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	82	78
Alzheimer's disease	62	66
Cerebrovascular diseases	60	97
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	23
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	36	41
Diabetes mellitus	31	43
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	30	24
Influenza and pneumonia	24	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	106	128