Great Lakes Wire

There were 47 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 2.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 1,889 deaths in the state. 24.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.4% were from cancer and 7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Heart disease	469	448
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	386	389
Cerebrovascular diseases	110	99
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	96	92
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	85	73
Alzheimer's disease	80	73
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	47	46
Diabetes mellitus	45	55
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	33	33
Influenza and pneumonia	22	27

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	163	149