Hawkeye Reporter

There were 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending June 5, a 50 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 5, there were 521 deaths in the state. 26.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.2 percent were from cancer and 4.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4 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 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Heart disease	136	126
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	95	134
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	25	25
Alzheimer's disease	22	18
Diabetes mellitus	21	17
Cerebrovascular diseases	17	25
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	15	22
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	20
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Alzheimer disease and dementia	54	49