The Sconi

There were 30 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending May 1, a 25 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 1, there were 1,007 deaths in the state. 24.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.7 percent were from cancer and 7.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.2 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01	Number of Deaths 2021-04-24
Heart disease	247	231
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	198	215
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	50	45
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	53
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	47
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	30	24
Alzheimer's disease	29	34
Diabetes mellitus	27	28
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	15
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01	Number of Deaths 2021-04-24
Alzheimer disease and dementia	73	96