Hawkeye Reporter

There were 115 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending Jan. 29, a 1.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 29, there were 635 deaths in the state. 23.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15 percent were from cancer and 39.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7 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 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Heart disease	152	149
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	133	136
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	115	117
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	95	130
Alzheimer's disease	37	29
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	25	29
Cerebrovascular diseases	23	26
Diabetes mellitus	11	28
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Alzheimer disease and dementia	68	61