Buckeye Reporter

There were 119 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending November 27, a 4.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 27, there were 2,949 deaths in the state. 17 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.3 percent were from cancer and 36.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.1 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 2021-11-27	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	558	472
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	513	428
Heart disease	501	563
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	450	448
Cerebrovascular diseases	176	137
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	119	125
Diabetes mellitus	92	79
Alzheimer's disease	88	106
Influenza and pneumonia	43	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	43	45

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20
Alzheimer disease and dementia	208	262