Golden State Today

There were 134 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in California during the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, a 26.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, there were 5,423 deaths in the state. 20.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% 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. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Cerebrovascular diseases	349	329
Alzheimer's disease	321	284
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	206	195
Diabetes mellitus	197	187
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	134	183
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	82	124
Influenza and pneumonia	76	72
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	76	97
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,166	1,169
Heart disease	1,093	1,128

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	559	515