Empire State Today

There were 280 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in New York state during the week ending April 16, 2022, a 16.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 16, 2022, there were 1,443 deaths in the state. 24.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4% were from cancer and 4.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2% 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 April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Heart disease	351	419
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	280	334
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	58	68
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	59
Influenza and pneumonia	41	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	38	49
Alzheimer's disease	35	36
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	31	34
Diabetes mellitus	28	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	23

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	133	151