Empire State Today

There were 78 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New York state during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 16.4% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 1,457 deaths in the state. 23.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 7.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Heart disease	338	396
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	278	311
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	78	67
Cerebrovascular diseases	70	63
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	61	48
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	50	37
Diabetes mellitus	39	37
Alzheimer's disease	32	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	27
Influenza and pneumonia	27	44

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	129	139