Minnesota State Wire

There were 48 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending March 5, a 7.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 551 deaths in the state. 16.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.1% were from cancer and 12.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 16% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	122	185
Heart disease	89	136
Alzheimer's disease	48	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	39	65
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	33
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	46
Cerebrovascular diseases	27	44
Diabetes mellitus	13	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	88	115