Golden State Today

There were 155 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in California during the week ending April 9, 2022, a 8.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 9, 2022, there were 3,571 deaths in the state. 22.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 3.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.8% 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 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022
Heart disease	793	785
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	688	727
Alzheimer's disease	253	237
Cerebrovascular diseases	222	258
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	155	169
Diabetes mellitus	143	140
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	70	102
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	61	62
Influenza and pneumonia	57	69
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	56	73

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	421	422