Garden State Times

There were 43 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 7.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 1,438 deaths in the state. 22.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	324	334
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	275	271
Cerebrovascular diseases	72	67
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	59	63
Alzheimer's disease	43	40
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	41	54
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	41	37
Diabetes mellitus	36	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	34	40
Influenza and pneumonia	25	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	128	127