The Sconi

There were 39 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending July 10, a 2.6 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 10, there were 982 deaths in the state. 20.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.2 percent were from cancer and 1.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.6 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 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	208	211
Heart disease	198	244
Cerebrovascular diseases	53	54
Alzheimer's disease	45	47
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	39	38
Diabetes mellitus	33	34
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	13	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	16
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Alzheimer disease and dementia	94	103