The Sconi

There were 61 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending Jan. 15, a 27.1 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 1,224 deaths in the state. 18 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.1 percent were from cancer and 41 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.6 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	275	304
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	227	224
Heart disease	220	277
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	173	204
Alzheimer's disease	61	48
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	50
Diabetes mellitus	28	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	20
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	16

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	130	122