Hawkeye Reporter

There were 14 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending Dec. 25, a 40 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 25, there were 570 deaths in the state. 25.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.7 percent were from cancer and 35.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7 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 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
Heart disease	147	141
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	104	117
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	97	112
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	84	110
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	28	29
Cerebrovascular diseases	22	22
Alzheimer's disease	20	18
Influenza and pneumonia	14	10
Diabetes mellitus	13	27
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	44	52