Empire State Today

There were 38 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in New York state during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 22.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 1,958 deaths in the state. 24.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 7.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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 July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Heart disease	476	412
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	417	434
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	91	74
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	78	84
Cerebrovascular diseases	65	79
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	54	54
Diabetes mellitus	41	40
Alzheimer's disease	40	42
Influenza and pneumonia	38	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	36

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	155	167