Minnesota State Wire

There were less than 10 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Feb. 5, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 5, there were 662 deaths in the state. 16.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.4 percent were from cancer and 32.6 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2022-02-05	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	122	202
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	118	204
Heart disease	109	159
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	98	178
Alzheimer's disease	40	55
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	51
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	27	43
Diabetes mellitus	23	39
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	15