Great Lakes Wire

There were 75 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, a 5.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, there were 1,952 deaths in the state. 22.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.2% were from cancer and 7.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6% 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 Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Heart disease	439	498
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	413	401
Cerebrovascular diseases	114	99
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	93	86
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	86	76
Alzheimer's disease	75	71
Diabetes mellitus	64	74
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	61	54
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	50	32
Influenza and pneumonia	16	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	148	159