Buckeye Reporter

There were 79 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending March 12, a 12.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 1,626 deaths in the state. 20.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8% were from cancer and 9.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9% 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 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	333	382
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	290	358
Cerebrovascular diseases	94	113
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	92	202
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	79	90
Alzheimer's disease	67	89
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	67	158
Diabetes mellitus	46	55
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	36	30
Influenza and pneumonia	23	25

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	147	183