Minnesota State Wire

There were 35 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Minnesota in the week ending Sept. 17, making up 5.1% of total deaths by all causes in Minnesota, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, there were 684 deaths in the state. 18.9% 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)	162	23.7
Heart disease	129	18.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	39	5.7
Alzheimer's disease	35	5.1
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	35	5.1
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	4.8
Diabetes mellitus	27	3.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	18	2.6
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	1.6
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 1.5