Minnesota State Wire

There were 24 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 14.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 967 deaths in the state. 17.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.5% were from cancer and 6.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.1% 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 Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	227	190
Heart disease	169	180
Alzheimer's disease	48	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	44
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	40	46
Cerebrovascular diseases	31	37
Diabetes mellitus	26	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	21
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	117	101