Buckeye Reporter

There were 83 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 15.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 2,255 deaths in the state. 21.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and 10.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Heart disease	482	481
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	424	439
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	152	128
Cerebrovascular diseases	126	130
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	120	113
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	91	89
Alzheimer's disease	83	98
Diabetes mellitus	55	68
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	24
Influenza and pneumonia	18	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	195	226