Golden State Today

There were 348 deaths from cerebrovascular diseases reported in California in the week ending Nov. 5, making up 6.2% of total deaths by all causes in California, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, there were 5,614 deaths in the state. 19.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 3.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4% 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
Alzheimer's disease	348	6.2
Cerebrovascular diseases	348	6.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	222	4
Diabetes mellitus	215	3.8
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	134	2.4
Influenza and pneumonia	93	1.7
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	85	1.5
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	84	1.5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,151	20.5
Heart disease	1,113	19.8

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	582	10.4