Golden State Today

There were 72 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in California during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 18% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 5,133 deaths in the state. 18.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8% were from cancer and 7.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.6% 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 Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Heart disease	946	1,083
Alzheimer's disease	302	305
Cerebrovascular diseases	287	344
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	232	286
Diabetes mellitus	206	202
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	200	220
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	157	192
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	81	84
Influenza and pneumonia	72	61
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,119	1,193

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	544	546