Great Lakes Wire

There were 67 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, a 9.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, there were 2,091 deaths in the state. 24.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8% were from cancer and 8.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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 Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Heart disease	511	494
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	415	405
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	121	87
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	116	122
Cerebrovascular diseases	87	98
Alzheimer's disease	78	89
Diabetes mellitus	69	57
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	67	74
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	37
Influenza and pneumonia	29	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	165	181