Minnesota State Wire

There were 42 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending August 14, a 20 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 14, there were 896 deaths in the state. 18.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.1 percent were from cancer and 5.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.9 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 2021-08-14	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	198	217
Heart disease	163	170
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	35
Cerebrovascular diseases	42	54
Alzheimer's disease	41	34
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	22
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	19
Diabetes mellitus	20	36
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07
Alzheimer disease and dementia	98	85