Golden State Today

There were 72 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in California during the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, a 25.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, there were 5,480 deaths in the state. 20.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 5.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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 Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Cerebrovascular diseases	329	336
Alzheimer's disease	284	314
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	195	215
Diabetes mellitus	187	198
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	183	207
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	124	142
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	97	88
Influenza and pneumonia	72	97
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,169	1,174
Heart disease	1,128	1,106

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	515	531