Garden State Times

There were 13 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey in the week ending July 22, making up 0.9% of total deaths by all causes in New Jersey, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 22, there were 1,380 deaths in the state. 23.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.9% were from cancer and 2.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	321	23.3
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	302	21.9
Cerebrovascular diseases	83	6
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	43	3.1
Alzheimer's disease	27	2
Diabetes mellitus	25	1.8
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	1.7
Influenza and pneumonia	19	1.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	17	1.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	13	0.9

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	119	8.6