Gem State Wire

There were 16 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Idaho during the week ending Jan. 29, a 23.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 29, there were 336 deaths in the state. 16.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.2 percent were from cancer and 36.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.1 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 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	65	47
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	59	40
Heart disease	54	45
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	51	60
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	25	14
Alzheimer's disease	16	21
Cerebrovascular diseases	13	10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22
Alzheimer disease and dementia	34	42