Great Lakes Wire

There were 86 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending June 25, 2022, a 14.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, 2022, there were 1,616 deaths in the state. 24.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.6% were from cancer and 6.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2% 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 June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Heart disease	394	443
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	349	398
Cerebrovascular diseases	87	103
Alzheimer's disease	86	75
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	74	92
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	66	77
Diabetes mellitus	53	61
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	34	32
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	32	54
Influenza and pneumonia	22	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	148	148