Hawkeye Reporter

There were 26 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Iowa during the week ending June 24, a 18.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 580 deaths in the state. 24.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.4% were from cancer and less than 1.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	142	120
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	130	123
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38	24
Cerebrovascular diseases	28	20
Alzheimer's disease	26	22
Diabetes mellitus	15	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	13
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	55	52