Empire State Today

There were 76 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New York state during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 2,024 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.9% were from cancer and 6.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3% 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. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Heart disease	443	453
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	424	427
Cerebrovascular diseases	90	65
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	85	92
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	76	71
Diabetes mellitus	51	39
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	48	65
Alzheimer's disease	43	39
Influenza and pneumonia	35	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	34

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	167	169