Minnesota State Wire

There were 48 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 11.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 893 deaths in the state. 19.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.4% were from cancer and 8.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.4% 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. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	200	191
Heart disease	174	154
Alzheimer's disease	48	43
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	45
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	37
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38	40
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	23
Diabetes mellitus	23	20
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	102	104