Sooner State News

There were 134 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending June 24, a 4.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 754 deaths in the state. 28.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8% were from cancer and less than 1.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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 June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	213	221
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	134	140
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	54	60
Alzheimer's disease	34	24
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	25
Diabetes mellitus	28	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	70	52