Gem State Wire

There were 33 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Idaho during the week ending Jan. 15, a 8.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 291 deaths in the state. 19.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3 percent were from cancer and 25.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	59	52
Heart disease	56	72
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	33	36
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	25	20
Alzheimer's disease	15	18
Cerebrovascular diseases	11	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	32	37