Buckeye Reporter

There were 78 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending Feb. 12, a 14.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 12, there were 1,918 deaths in the state. 18.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.4 percent were from cancer and 36 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6 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 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	374	632
Heart disease	347	478
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	317	552
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	257	316
Cerebrovascular diseases	93	133
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	80	114
Alzheimer's disease	78	91
Diabetes mellitus	51	71
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	32	27
Influenza and pneumonia	22	42

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
Alzheimer disease and dementia	165	222