Buckeye Reporter

There were 135 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Ohio during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 9.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 2,297 deaths in the state. 20.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 10% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Heart disease	472	454
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	435	461
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	135	123
Cerebrovascular diseases	130	134
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	109	121
Alzheimer's disease	96	80
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	95	84
Diabetes mellitus	68	59
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	51
Influenza and pneumonia	25	27

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	203	192