Buckeye Reporter

There were 122 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending November 20, a 1.7 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 20, there were 2,871 deaths in the state. 19.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.4 percent were from cancer and 30.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9 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 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Heart disease	554	567
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	454	407
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	443	475
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	415	369
Cerebrovascular diseases	137	161
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	122	120
Alzheimer's disease	105	120
Diabetes mellitus	76	74
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	45	52
Influenza and pneumonia	37	41

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Alzheimer disease and dementia	258	280