Minnesota State Wire

There were 22 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota in the week ending Sept. 10, making up 3.1% of total deaths by all causes in Minnesota, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, there were 704 deaths in the state. 20.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.7% were from cancer and 7.7% 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)	167	23.7
Heart disease	146	20.7
Alzheimer's disease	47	6.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	4.7
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	32	4.5
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	3.1
Diabetes mellitus	21	3
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	1.6
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 1.4