Hawkeye Reporter

There were 127 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 8.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 572 deaths in the state. 20.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.2% were from cancer and 9.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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 Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	127	117
Heart disease	119	151
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	33	33
Cerebrovascular diseases	28	19
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	27	25
Alzheimer's disease	25	18
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	21	22
Diabetes mellitus	16	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	52	49