Sooner State News

There were 52 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 67.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 745 deaths in the state. 23.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.7% were from cancer and 11.9% 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 Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Heart disease	172	182
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	139	138
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	58	42
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	31	28
Alzheimer's disease	25	24
Cerebrovascular diseases	23	30
Diabetes mellitus	14	23
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	71	61