The Sconi

There were 71 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 39.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 1,137 deaths in the state. 22.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.1% 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	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	258	230
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	235	233
Alzheimer's disease	71	51
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	55
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	40	48
Cerebrovascular diseases	39	71
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	28	27
Diabetes mellitus	23	31
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	138	122