Gem State Wire

There were 57 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Idaho during the week ending December 4, a 5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending December 4, there were 343 deaths in the state. 16.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.2 percent were from cancer and 32.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 5.2 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 2021-12-04	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	61	50
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	59	69
Heart disease	57	60
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	51	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	20	20
Cerebrovascular diseases	19	14
Diabetes mellitus	13	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	10	18
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27
Alzheimer disease and dementia	18	36