Minnesota State Wire

There were 44 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, a 10.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, there were 1,005 deaths in the state. 15% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.8% were from cancer and 8.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.8% 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 Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	239	190
Heart disease	151	150
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	55	56
Cerebrovascular diseases	47	44
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	49
Alzheimer's disease	41	54
Diabetes mellitus	39	29
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	33
Influenza and pneumonia	10	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	119	113