Buckeye Reporter

There were 22 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio in the week ending June 18, making up 2.2% of total deaths by all causes in Ohio, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, there were 984 deaths in the state. 16.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.4% were from cancer and 5.1% were from COVID-19.

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	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	220	22.4
Heart disease	162	16.5
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	5.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	54	5.5
Alzheimer's disease	41	4.2
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	28	2.8
Diabetes mellitus	26	2.6
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	2.2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	1.6
Influenza and pneumonia	11	1.1