Sooner State News

There were 39 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending September 25, a 50.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 25, there were 1,033 deaths in the state. 19.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.4 percent were from cancer and 46 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 5.2 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-09-25	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	254	267
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	221	244
Heart disease	202	195
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	169	130
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	39	79
Cerebrovascular diseases	36	33
Diabetes mellitus	31	34
Alzheimer's disease	30	22
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-25	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	54	52