Golden State Today

There were 38 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in California during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 17.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 3,436 deaths in the state. 22.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.6% were from cancer and 2.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% 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 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Heart disease	772	789
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	709	799
Cerebrovascular diseases	229	258
Alzheimer's disease	202	251
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	153	147
Diabetes mellitus	137	149
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	63	80
Influenza and pneumonia	51	53
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	50	73
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	38	46

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	353	401