Golden State Today

There were 159 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in California during the week ending April 2, 2022, a 15.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 2, 2022, there were 3,497 deaths in the state. 20.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4% were from cancer and 4.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.6% 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 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022
Heart disease	712	808
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	680	791
Cerebrovascular diseases	246	253
Alzheimer's disease	224	240
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	159	189
Diabetes mellitus	130	147
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	96	149
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	68	111
Influenza and pneumonia	62	67
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	59	54

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	406	435