Golden State Today

There were 229 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in California during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a 3.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 5,671 deaths in the state. 21% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and 4.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.1% 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 Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer's disease	336	348
Cerebrovascular diseases	326	348
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	229	222
Diabetes mellitus	215	215
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	153	134
Influenza and pneumonia	106	93
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	106	85
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	99	84
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	1,150	1,151
Heart disease	1,190	1,113

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	573	582