Sooner State News

There were 18 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a 43.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 806 deaths in the state. 24.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17% were from cancer and 2.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Heart disease	196	199
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	137	196
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	60	47
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	30
Diabetes mellitus	34	23
Alzheimer's disease	31	28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	18	32
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	15
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	19

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	79	75