Buckeye Reporter

There were 557 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending October 9, a 3.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 9, there were 3,056 deaths in the state. 18 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.1 percent were from cancer and 38.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.2 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 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	618	636
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	557	577
Heart disease	550	572
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	492	497
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	130	129
Cerebrovascular diseases	130	147
Alzheimer's disease	104	106
Diabetes mellitus	85	91
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	50
Influenza and pneumonia	36	37

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
Alzheimer disease and dementia	221	233