Buckeye Reporter

There were 254 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending Dec. 18, a 34.2 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 18, there were 1,895 deaths in the state. 16.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.4 percent were from cancer and 51.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4 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 2021-12-18	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	509	642
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	475	606
Heart disease	309	468
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	254	386
Cerebrovascular diseases	93	128
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	107
Alzheimer's disease	65	86
Diabetes mellitus	36	58
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	33
Influenza and pneumonia	16	39

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	140	199