Golden State Today

There were 207 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in California during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 11.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 5,516 deaths in the state. 20.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 6.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.6% 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 Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Cerebrovascular diseases	336	331
Alzheimer's disease	314	349
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	215	197
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	207	186
Diabetes mellitus	198	204
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	142	127
Influenza and pneumonia	97	76
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	88	106
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,174	1,124
Heart disease	1,106	1,132

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	531	581