Hawkeye Reporter

There were 31 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa in the week ending Dec. 10, 2022, making up five% of total deaths by all causes in Iowa, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 10, 2022, there were 626 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.4% were from cancer and 11.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% 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	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	147	23.5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	115	18.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	6.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	5.3
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	31	5
Cerebrovascular diseases	26	4.2
Alzheimer's disease	22	3.5
Influenza and pneumonia	17	2.7
Diabetes mellitus	17	2.7
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 1.6

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	62	9.9