Buckeye Reporter

There were 67 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 13.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 2,260 deaths in the state. 20.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20% were from cancer and 7.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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 July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Heart disease	458	501
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	453	456
Cerebrovascular diseases	108	115
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	107	110
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	98	94
Alzheimer's disease	78	81
Diabetes mellitus	67	70
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	67	59
Influenza and pneumonia	30	18
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	45

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	197	191