Sooner State News

There were 56 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 16.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 670 deaths in the state. 27.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.1% were from cancer and 2.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Heart disease	184	158
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	121	131
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	56	48
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	28
Alzheimer's disease	26	21
Diabetes mellitus	23	19
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	18	21
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 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	59	61