Buckeye Reporter

There were 115 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 33.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 2,356 deaths in the state. 20.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.7% were from cancer and 7.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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 Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Heart disease	488	492
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	465	456
Cerebrovascular diseases	124	118
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	115	86
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	107	137
Alzheimer's disease	105	88
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	74	84
Diabetes mellitus	66	77
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	45	45
Influenza and pneumonia	27	27

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	219	196