Minnesota State Wire

There were 43 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, a 87% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, there were 830 deaths in the state. 18.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23% were from cancer and 7.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.5% 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	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	191	195
Heart disease	150	179
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	45
Alzheimer's disease	43	23
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	40	26
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	36	54
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	29
Diabetes mellitus	20	28
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	82