Golden State Today

There were 178 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in California during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 24.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 5,364 deaths in the state. 19.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 5.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.8% 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 Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer's disease	349	325
Cerebrovascular diseases	321	321
Diabetes mellitus	199	211
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	197	211
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	178	235
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	118	147
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	105	92
Influenza and pneumonia	74	88
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,110	1,178
Heart disease	1,066	1,182

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	581	564