Minnesota State Wire

There were 35 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending September 11, a 20.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 908 deaths in the state. 17.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.4 percent were from cancer and 13.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.5 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	194	203
Heart disease	162	154
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	65	60
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	59	52
Alzheimer's disease	50	38
Cerebrovascular diseases	38	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	44
Diabetes mellitus	26	26
Influenza and pneumonia	13	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	85