Sooner State News

There were 17 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 15% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 792 deaths in the state. 25.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2% were from cancer and 6.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	199	165
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	152	163
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	62
Cerebrovascular diseases	34	28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	34	38
Alzheimer's disease	32	27
Diabetes mellitus	26	24
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	17	20
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	81	72