Sooner State News

There were 29 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 12.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 750 deaths in the state. 21.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and 11.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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 Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Heart disease	159	178
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	152	145
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	60	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	60	61
Cerebrovascular diseases	34	26
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	33
Diabetes mellitus	25	15
Alzheimer's disease	21	25
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	59	73