Empire State Today

There were 92 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New York state during the week ending July 2, 2022, a 16.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 2, 2022, there were 1,916 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 5.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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 July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Heart disease	450	465
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	409	352
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	92	79
Cerebrovascular diseases	78	73
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	71	76
Diabetes mellitus	51	53
Alzheimer's disease	44	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	42	47
Influenza and pneumonia	35	45
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	26	29

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 25, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	162	163