Sooner State News

There were 35 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 94.4% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 760 deaths in the state. 25.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.3% were from cancer and 7.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Heart disease	194	190
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	139	126
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	45
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	35	18
Diabetes mellitus	31	24
Alzheimer's disease	31	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	24	29
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	68	65