The Sconi

There were 17 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending July 3, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 3, there were 1,059 deaths in the state. 22.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9 percent were from cancer and 2.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.7 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 2021-07-03	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26
Heart disease	241	201
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	211	187
Cerebrovascular diseases	54	52
Alzheimer's disease	47	44
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38	38
Diabetes mellitus	34	23
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	17	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	11
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	103	101