Minnesota State Wire

There were 235 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending December 4, a 7.3 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending December 4, there were 1,154 deaths in the state. 15.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.6 percent were from cancer and 42.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4 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 2021-12-04	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	258	242
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	235	219
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	192	205
Heart disease	176	184
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	56	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	34
Alzheimer's disease	48	55
Diabetes mellitus	32	35
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	126