Buckeye Reporter

There were 76 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Ohio during the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, a 13.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, there were 2,425 deaths in the state. 20.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2% were from cancer and 7.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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 Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Heart disease	492	521
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	489	497
Cerebrovascular diseases	129	130
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	116	139
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	114	110
Alzheimer's disease	93	84
Diabetes mellitus	83	60
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	76	88
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	52	38
Influenza and pneumonia	33	32

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	211	189