Buckeye Reporter

There were 64 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending Jan. 22, a 46.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 22, there were 2,358 deaths in the state. 16.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.2 percent were from cancer and 55.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.7 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 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	683	973
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	627	889
Heart disease	397	538
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	312	454
Cerebrovascular diseases	118	145
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	110	115
Alzheimer's disease	64	120
Diabetes mellitus	55	78
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	44
Influenza and pneumonia	22	34

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	157	239