Minnesota State Wire

There were 22 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota in the week ending Dec. 24, making up 2.7% of total deaths by all causes in Minnesota, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 24, there were 804 deaths in the state. 22.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.7% were from cancer and 6.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 16.5% of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

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
Heart disease	183	22.8
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	158	19.7
Alzheimer's disease	48	6
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	5.5
Cerebrovascular diseases	37	4.6
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	30	3.7
Diabetes mellitus	27	3.4
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	2.7
Influenza and pneumonia	18	2.2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	1.2

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	133	16.5