Minnesota State Wire

There were 39 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 857 deaths in the state. 21.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8% were from cancer and 5.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.3% 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 Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	187	197
Heart disease	186	158
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	36
Alzheimer's disease	39	39
Cerebrovascular diseases	36	40
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	31
Diabetes mellitus	26	21
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	97	90