Gem State Wire

There were 11 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Idaho during the week ending June 5, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 5, there were 289 deaths in the state. 21.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1 percent were from cancer and 3.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.9 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Heart disease	61	58
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	58	74
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	17	16
Cerebrovascular diseases	15	17
Alzheimer's disease	11	11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	11	16
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	0
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	15

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Alzheimer disease and dementia	20	25