Hawkeye Reporter

There were 32 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 5.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 624 deaths in the state. 23.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 7.1% 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. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Heart disease	146	156
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	118	125
Alzheimer's disease	32	34
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	28	15
Diabetes mellitus	27	20
Cerebrovascular diseases	24	27
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	20	23
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	16	10
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	70	66