Empire State Today

There were 380 deaths from cancer reported in New York state in the week ending Dec. 24, making up 17.7% of total deaths by all causes in New York state, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 24, there were 2,151 deaths in the state. 24.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.7% were from cancer and 10.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.2% 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	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	531	24.7
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	380	17.7
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	138	6.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	99	4.6
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	91	4.2
Influenza and pneumonia	90	4.2
Cerebrovascular diseases	76	3.5
Diabetes mellitus	61	2.8
Alzheimer's disease	61	2.8
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	48	2.2

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	240	11.2