Minnesota State Wire

There were 32 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending October 16, a 13.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 16, there were 955 deaths in the state. 17 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9 percent were from cancer and 25 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4 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 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	190	189
Heart disease	162	175
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	126	136
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	113	119
Cerebrovascular diseases	46	39
Alzheimer's disease	32	43
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	37
Diabetes mellitus	31	30
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Alzheimer disease and dementia	99	98