Garden State Times

There were 288 deaths from cancer reported in New Jersey in the week ending Aug. 5, making up 20.8% of total deaths by all causes in New Jersey, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 5, there were 1,382 deaths in the state. 24% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.8% were from cancer and 1.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8% 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	332	24
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	288	20.8
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	4.2
Alzheimer's disease	39	2.8
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	2.7
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	2.6
Diabetes mellitus	34	2.5
Influenza and pneumonia	15	1.1
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	0.7
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	10	0.7

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	108	7.8