Buckeye Reporter

There were 139 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Ohio during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 23% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 2,392 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.8% were from cancer and 9.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Heart disease	521	523
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	497	473
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	139	113
Cerebrovascular diseases	130	126
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	110	121
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	88	80
Alzheimer's disease	84	107
Diabetes mellitus	60	69
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	46
Influenza and pneumonia	32	29

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	189	222