Minnesota State Wire

There were 23 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending July 9, 2022, a 9.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 9, 2022, there were 680 deaths in the state. 22.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 26.6% were from cancer and 8.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13.1% 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	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	181	183
Heart disease	153	147
Alzheimer's disease	37	38
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	41
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	33	28
Cerebrovascular diseases	27	40
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	21
Diabetes mellitus	12	21
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	89	104