Buckeye Reporter

There were 80 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 23.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 2,290 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9% were from cancer and 8.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3% 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 Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	456	474
Heart disease	444	494
Cerebrovascular diseases	132	131
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	121	123
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	119	118
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	82	81
Alzheimer's disease	80	65
Diabetes mellitus	59	79
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	49	42
Influenza and pneumonia	26	27

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	191	175