Minnesota State Wire

There were 17 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota in the week ending Oct. 8, making up 2.5% of total deaths by all causes in Minnesota, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 8, there were 671 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.4% were from cancer and 7.5% 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)	157	23.4
Heart disease	130	19.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	6.7
Alzheimer's disease	35	5.2
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	33	4.9
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	4.8
Diabetes mellitus	19	2.8
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	17	2.5
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 1.5
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 1.5