Great Lakes Wire

There were 50 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 16.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 1,901 deaths in the state. 24.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1% were from cancer and 6.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.6% 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 July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Heart disease	465	466
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	402	368
Cerebrovascular diseases	106	115
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	87	89
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	74	77
Alzheimer's disease	66	72
Diabetes mellitus	51	49
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	50	43
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	32
Influenza and pneumonia	23	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	126	145