The Sconi

There were 29 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending June 5, a 3.6 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 5, there were 1,034 deaths in the state. 19.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.6 percent were from cancer and 5.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8 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 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	244	195
Heart disease	204	251
Alzheimer's disease	42	34
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	33
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	28
Diabetes mellitus	26	30
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	21
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Alzheimer disease and dementia	81	83