The Sconi

There were 39 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending June 17, a 34.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 1,059 deaths in the state. 20.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.8% were from cancer and less than 0.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	220	225
Heart disease	216	208
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	52
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	40	39
Alzheimer's disease	39	29
Diabetes mellitus	24	27
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	16
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	99	90