Buckeye Reporter

There were 19 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending March 5, a 26.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 1,614 deaths in the state. 20% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5% were from cancer and 18% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	322	416
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	299	360
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	165	258
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	126	200
Cerebrovascular diseases	92	122
Alzheimer's disease	76	88
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	74	101
Diabetes mellitus	40	84
Influenza and pneumonia	19	26
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	44

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	150	199