Beaver State News

There were 16 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Oregon in the week ending Dec. 3, making up 1.9% of total deaths by all causes in Oregon, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 3, there were 841 deaths in the state. 15.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5% were from cancer and 4.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.9% 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	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	156	18.5
Heart disease	131	15.6
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	6.7
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	39	4.6
Alzheimer's disease	37	4.4
Diabetes mellitus	31	3.7
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	24	2.9
Influenza and pneumonia	21	2.5
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	1.9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 1.2

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	100	11.9