Garden State Times

There were 17 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending Jan. 15, a 43.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 2,114 deaths in the state. 19.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.3 percent were from cancer and 57.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	654	589
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	569	512
Heart disease	410	443
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	261	286
Cerebrovascular diseases	64	70
Alzheimer's disease	63	52
Diabetes mellitus	54	46
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	70
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	48
Influenza and pneumonia	17	30

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	162	153