Golden State Today

There were 1,185 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in California during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 3.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 5,494 deaths in the state. 19.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.6% were from cancer and 8.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% 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 Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Cerebrovascular diseases	339	300
Alzheimer's disease	303	285
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	279	312
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	219	198
Diabetes mellitus	199	195
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	188	223
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	83	87
Influenza and pneumonia	58	72
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,185	1,141
Heart disease	1,058	1,125

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	542	510