The Sconi

There were 144 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending September 25, a 10.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 25, there were 1,166 deaths in the state. 18 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18 percent were from cancer and 22 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7 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 2021-09-25	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	210	217
Heart disease	210	240
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	144	161
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	112	127
Alzheimer's disease	49	55
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	52
Diabetes mellitus	37	38
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	52
Influenza and pneumonia	16	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	17

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-25	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	101	123