Sooner State News

There were 45 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 25% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 640 deaths in the state. 24.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20% were from cancer and 3.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Heart disease	158	146
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	128	125
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	36
Cerebrovascular diseases	28	36
Alzheimer's disease	21	25
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	22
Diabetes mellitus	18	24
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	61	53