Hawkeye Reporter

There were 22 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending Feb. 5, a 12 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 5, there were 433 deaths in the state. 19.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15 percent were from cancer and 39.3 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2022-02-05	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	91	133
Heart disease	85	152
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	79	115
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	65	95
Alzheimer's disease	24	37
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	22	25
Cerebrovascular diseases	17	23
Diabetes mellitus	11	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10