Beaver State News

There were 15 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oregon during the week ending Jan. 29, a 50 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 29, there were 586 deaths in the state. 16.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.9 percent were from cancer and 33.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.9 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 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	103	117
Heart disease	95	122
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	94	105
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	93	135
Cerebrovascular diseases	38	40
Alzheimer's disease	36	29
Diabetes mellitus	15	27
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	15	30
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Alzheimer disease and dementia	70	57