Minnesota State Wire

There were 32 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 28.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 828 deaths in the state. 17.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.4% were from cancer and 9.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.6% 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 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	194	175
Heart disease	144	156
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	46	45
Diabetes mellitus	42	22
Cerebrovascular diseases	37	35
Alzheimer's disease	34	29
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	45
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	32	19
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	88	78