Empire State Today

There were 121 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in New York state during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 4.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 2,119 deaths in the state. 23.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 10% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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 Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	492	475
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	400	404
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	121	116
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	91	77
Cerebrovascular diseases	84	71
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	81	86
Diabetes mellitus	57	55
Alzheimer's disease	50	27
Influenza and pneumonia	47	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	34

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	200	168