Sooner State News

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, a 9.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, there were 803 deaths in the state. 20.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and 7.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 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 Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Heart disease	165	199
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	163	154
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	62	33
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	38	37
Cerebrovascular diseases	28	37
Alzheimer's disease	27	25
Diabetes mellitus	24	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	20	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	72	70