Beaver State News

There were 18 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oregon during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 21.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 407 deaths in the state. 21.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1% were from cancer and 2.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.8% 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 April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Heart disease	87	88
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	82	94
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	30
Alzheimer's disease	19	17
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	18	23
Diabetes mellitus	13	14
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	12	15
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	44	56