Hawkeye Reporter

There were 129 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, a 7.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, there were 642 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1% were from cancer and 8.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.2% 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 Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Heart disease	140	147
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	129	120
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	40	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	21
Alzheimer's disease	25	29
Cerebrovascular diseases	25	24
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	13
Diabetes mellitus	15	20
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	72	62