Hawkeye Reporter

There were 19 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 5.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 498 deaths in the state. 28.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.3% were from cancer and 10% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Heart disease	141	145
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	111	95
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	31	27
Cerebrovascular diseases	25	26
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	22	39
Alzheimer's disease	21	20
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	19	18
Diabetes mellitus	17	17
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	49	53