Great Lakes Wire

There were 76 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 13.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 1,855 deaths in the state. 25% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.9% were from cancer and 6.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4% 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. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Heart disease	463	463
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	407	397
Cerebrovascular diseases	90	117
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	85	85
Alzheimer's disease	81	53
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	76	88
Diabetes mellitus	50	61
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	49	47
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	32	35
Influenza and pneumonia	19	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	156	134