Hawkeye Reporter

There were 28 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Iowa during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 17.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 548 deaths in the state. 24.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.4% were from cancer and 8.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.6% 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 Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Heart disease	136	142
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	112	92
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	28	34
Alzheimer's disease	24	22
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	23	32
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	18	26
Diabetes mellitus	15	17
Cerebrovascular diseases	14	31
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	69	59