Great Lakes Wire

There were 321 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending May 14, 2022, a 11.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 14, 2022, there were 1,394 deaths in the state. 23.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23% were from cancer and 6.2% were from COVID-19.

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 14, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 7, 2022
Heart disease	332	475
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	321	361
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	74	80
Cerebrovascular diseases	63	85
Alzheimer's disease	55	79
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	52	64
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	37
Diabetes mellitus	31	69
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	35
Influenza and pneumonia	16	23