Great Lakes Wire

There were 37 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 26% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 1,805 deaths in the state. 23.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7% were from cancer and 5.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Heart disease	427	467
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	391	405
Cerebrovascular diseases	99	108
Alzheimer's disease	83	66
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	78	88
Diabetes mellitus	59	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	57	74
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	50
Influenza and pneumonia	25	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	28

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	153	127