Hawkeye Reporter

There were 27 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending March 5, a 6.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 458 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.6% were from cancer and 11.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.7% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	89	130
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	76	87
Alzheimer's disease	31	31
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	52
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	27	29
Cerebrovascular diseases	25	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	25	44
Diabetes mellitus	17	16
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	58	72