Beaver State News

There were 24 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oregon during the week ending March 12, a 36.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 378 deaths in the state. 18.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.6% were from cancer and 14.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13% 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 March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	78	89
Heart disease	71	77
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	31	58
Alzheimer's disease	24	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	49
Cerebrovascular diseases	21	35
Diabetes mellitus	15	17
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	11	28
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	49	70