Minnesota State Wire

There were less than 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Feb. 12, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 12, there were 748 deaths in the state. 18.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.5 percent were from cancer and 30.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.1 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 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	146	172
Heart disease	139	165
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	123	166
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	105	128
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	48
Alzheimer's disease	36	47
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	29	38
Diabetes mellitus	18	31
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
Alzheimer disease and dementia	83	114