Minnesota State Wire

There were 31 deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases reported in Minnesota in the week ending June 18, making up 4.9% of total deaths by all causes in Minnesota, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, there were 638 deaths in the state. 17.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 24.3% were from cancer and 9.2% 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)	155	24.3
Heart disease	111	17.4
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	6.7
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	33	5.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	31	4.9
Alzheimer's disease	30	4.7
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	4.1
Diabetes mellitus	19	3
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	1.7
Influenza and pneumonia	0	0