Golden State Today

There were 96 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in California during the week ending March 26, 2022, a 33.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 26, 2022, there were 3,473 deaths in the state. 20.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 6.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.7% 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 March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Heart disease	724	890
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	720	759
Cerebrovascular diseases	234	255
Alzheimer's disease	221	238
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	173	166
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	130	194
Diabetes mellitus	128	143
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	96	144
Influenza and pneumonia	63	56
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	49	65

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	406	418