The Sconi

There were 39 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a 25.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 1,148 deaths in the state. 18.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8% were from cancer and 9.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.6% 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 Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	227	237
Heart disease	213	235
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	69	51
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	41
Alzheimer's disease	48	52
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	39	31
Diabetes mellitus	34	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	13
Influenza and pneumonia	19	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	122	114