Minnesota State Wire

There were 28 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending June 24, a 24.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 865 deaths in the state. 19.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.6% were from cancer and less than 1.2% 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 June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	178	204
Heart disease	172	143
Cerebrovascular diseases	50	46
Alzheimer's disease	35	36
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	28	37
Diabetes mellitus	26	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	10
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	99	93