Sooner State News

There were 34 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 9.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 807 deaths in the state. 23.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.2% were from cancer and 9.5% 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 Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Heart disease	188	177
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	139	155
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	50	43
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	41
Alzheimer's disease	34	31
Cerebrovascular diseases	33	34
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	27	26
Diabetes mellitus	20	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	71	69