Empire State Today

There were 46 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New York state during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 21.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 1,913 deaths in the state. 23.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22% were from cancer and 8.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Heart disease	441	438
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	421	406
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	93	107
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	75	76
Cerebrovascular diseases	65	71
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	62	70
Alzheimer's disease	46	38
Diabetes mellitus	41	55
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	40
Influenza and pneumonia	34	39

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	169	175