Sooner State News

There were less than 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending Jan. 29, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 29, there were 920 deaths in the state. 19 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.2 percent were from cancer and 57.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6 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 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	283	265
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	243	232
Heart disease	175	217
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	121	132
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	61
Alzheimer's disease	31	34
Cerebrovascular diseases	29	38
Diabetes mellitus	19	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	14
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Alzheimer disease and dementia	70	73