Sooner State News

There were 32 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 14.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 810 deaths in the state. 25.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.3% were from cancer and 11.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Heart disease	204	213
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	140	143
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	59	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	50
Alzheimer's disease	37	34
Diabetes mellitus	35	29
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	35
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	32	28
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	74	74