Garden State Times

There were 23 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending March 12, a 20.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 1,145 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 7.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.2% 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 March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	269	288
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	244	230
Cerebrovascular diseases	70	74
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	49	52
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	37
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	38
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	29
Alzheimer's disease	23	29
Diabetes mellitus	19	34
Influenza and pneumonia	15	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	82	105