Great Lakes Wire

There were 54 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 50% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 2,092 deaths in the state. 24.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 8.6% 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 Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Heart disease	515	500
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	428	429
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	116	97
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	107	83
Cerebrovascular diseases	104	117
Alzheimer's disease	97	70
Diabetes mellitus	70	66
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	64	57
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	54	36
Influenza and pneumonia	26	25

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	179	151