The Sconi

There were 12 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending July 31, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 31, there were 1,095 deaths in the state. 21.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3 percent were from cancer and 3.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5 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 2021-07-31	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24
Heart disease	234	221
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	211	238
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	56
Alzheimer's disease	51	33
Diabetes mellitus	31	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	22	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	10
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	12	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	93