Minnesota State Wire

There were 54 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 12.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 919 deaths in the state. 16.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 9.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.3% 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 Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	190	227
Heart disease	150	169
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	56	40
Alzheimer's disease	54	48
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	49	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	24
Diabetes mellitus	29	26
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	113	117