Sooner State News

There were 30 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending July 30, 2022, a 57.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 30, 2022, there were 782 deaths in the state. 24.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 9.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Heart disease	194	178
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	160	157
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	48	42
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	34
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	20
Diabetes mellitus	30	19
Alzheimer's disease	27	35
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	29
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	67	63