Buckeye Reporter

There were 23 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending May 28, 2022, a 4.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 28, 2022, there were 1,927 deaths in the state. 23.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 5.4% 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	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 21, 2022
Heart disease	447	464
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	399	406
Cerebrovascular diseases	101	122
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	97	116
Alzheimer's disease	76	84
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	64	62
Diabetes mellitus	54	55
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	42	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	40	40
Influenza and pneumonia	23	22