Beaver State News

There were 29 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Oregon during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 17.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 786 deaths in the state. 17.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2% were from cancer and 5.2% 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 Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	151	150
Heart disease	135	139
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	42
Alzheimer's disease	41	41
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	35
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	23	29
Diabetes mellitus	19	22
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	12	20
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	84	88