Great Lakes Wire

There were 71 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 14.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 1,938 deaths in the state. 25.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.6% were from cancer and 7.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Heart disease	493	466
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	400	408
Cerebrovascular diseases	99	91
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	86	78
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	75	86
Diabetes mellitus	74	50
Alzheimer's disease	71	83
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	54	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	32	32
Influenza and pneumonia	20	19

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	157	158