Minnesota State Wire

There were 229 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending December 11, a 2.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending December 11, there were 1,129 deaths in the state. 15.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18 percent were from cancer and 42.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11 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 2021-12-11	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	246	258
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	229	235
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	203	192
Heart disease	178	176
Alzheimer's disease	58	48
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	51
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	56
Diabetes mellitus	26	32
Influenza and pneumonia	10	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	124	109