The Sconi

There were less than 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending Feb. 12, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 12, there were 862 deaths in the state. 19.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.3 percent were from cancer and 24.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.3 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 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
Heart disease	170	222
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	132	189
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	122	202
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	89	144
Alzheimer's disease	43	57
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	62
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	50
Diabetes mellitus	26	25
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	14
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	16

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
Alzheimer disease and dementia	106	119