Great Lakes Wire

There were 74 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 15.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 1,954 deaths in the state. 25.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 10% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	494	515
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	405	428
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	122	116
Cerebrovascular diseases	98	104
Alzheimer's disease	89	97
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	87	107
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	74	64
Diabetes mellitus	57	70
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	54
Influenza and pneumonia	20	26

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	181	179