Minnesota State Wire

There were 41 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending May 8, a 8.9 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 8, there were 859 deaths in the state. 16.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.4 percent were from cancer and 13.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	184	194
Heart disease	145	158
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	62	78
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	55	65
Cerebrovascular diseases	54	36
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	41	45
Alzheimer's disease	36	47
Diabetes mellitus	25	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Alzheimer disease and dementia	75	109