Gem State Wire

There were 108 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Idaho during the week ending September 11, a 22.7 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 396 deaths in the state. 14.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.1 percent were from cancer and 55.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	112	90
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	108	88
Heart disease	57	61
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	48	56
Alzheimer's disease	18	16
Diabetes mellitus	17	23
Cerebrovascular diseases	11	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	18

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	30	30