Minnesota State Wire

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending July 31, a 100 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 31, there were 845 deaths in the state. 19.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.9 percent were from cancer and 4.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.8 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 2021-07-31	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	185	179
Heart disease	161	140
Alzheimer's disease	40	42
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	39
Cerebrovascular diseases	37	35
Diabetes mellitus	20	20
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24
Alzheimer disease and dementia	91	96