Beaver State News

There were 171 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Oregon during the week ending August 28, a 23.9 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 28, there were 940 deaths in the state. 14.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8 percent were from cancer and 37.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	180	144
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	171	138
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	167	160
Heart disease	138	144
Alzheimer's disease	42	35
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	43
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	24	28
Diabetes mellitus	19	24
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Alzheimer disease and dementia	94	85