Golden State Today

There were 67 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in California during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 8.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 5,261 deaths in the state. 21.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22% were from cancer and 3.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer's disease	310	304
Cerebrovascular diseases	284	300
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	198	196
Diabetes mellitus	172	177
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	109	124
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	93	81
Influenza and pneumonia	73	75
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	67	73
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,159	1,208
Heart disease	1,115	1,104

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	539	504