The Sconi

There were 21 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending September 11, a 16.7 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 1,187 deaths in the state. 19 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.9 percent were from cancer and 20.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Heart disease	225	262
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	213	199
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	133	118
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	105	93
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	54	46
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	46
Alzheimer's disease	46	35
Diabetes mellitus	31	32
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	18
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	96