Minnesota State Wire

There were 21 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Minnesota in the week ending May 14, making up 4.2% of total deaths by all causes in Minnesota, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 14, there were 505 deaths in the state. 18% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 25.7% were from cancer and 6.9% 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	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	130	25.7
Heart disease	91	18
Alzheimer's disease	32	6.3
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	25	5
Cerebrovascular diseases	23	4.6
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	21	4.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	14	2.8
Diabetes mellitus	13	2.6
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 2