Empire State Today

There were 73 deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases reported in New York state in the week ending Feb. 12, making up four percent of total deaths by all causes in New York state, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 12, there were 1,837 deaths in the state. 22.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15 percent were from cancer and 29.8 percent were from COVID-19.

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	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	409	22.3
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	294	16
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	276	15
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	253	13.8
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	73	4
Cerebrovascular diseases	72	3.9
Alzheimer's disease	47	2.6
Influenza and pneumonia	39	2.1
Diabetes mellitus	36	2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	1.9