Garden State Times

There were 23 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending October 16, a 14.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 16, there were 1,521 deaths in the state. 20.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20 percent were from cancer and 15 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Heart disease	312	297
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	304	319
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	117	125
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	111	114
Cerebrovascular diseases	69	88
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	48
Diabetes mellitus	37	34
Alzheimer's disease	29	47
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	27
Influenza and pneumonia	15	27

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Alzheimer disease and dementia	106	127