Beaver State News

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Oregon during the week ending June 25, 2022, a 25% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, 2022, there were 577 deaths in the state. 18.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.8% were from cancer and 9.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7% 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 June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	120	144
Heart disease	106	139
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	40
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	33	29
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	26	36
Alzheimer's disease	24	36
Diabetes mellitus	21	24
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	20	16
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	62	68