Garden State Times

There were 25 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending Feb. 12, a 28.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 12, there were 1,280 deaths in the state. 21 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18 percent were from cancer and 25.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.5 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 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
Heart disease	269	350
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	230	257
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	184	382
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	148	308
Cerebrovascular diseases	70	72
Alzheimer's disease	58	63
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	30	52
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	25	35
Influenza and pneumonia	22	33
Diabetes mellitus	22	41

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-12	Number of Deaths 2022-02-05
Alzheimer disease and dementia	135	169