Iowa has fifth-highest Alzheimer’s death rate, report says

A recently released report says Iowa has the fifth-highest death rate from Alzheimer’s disease. The disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, and, as officials with the Alzheimer’s Association put it in their 2017 report, it is the only one of the top 10 causes of death in the country that cannot be prevented, cured or slowed.
“Nationally, I think people are more worried about it, because of heath care costs,” said Greg Woods, program and event coordinator for the Alzheimer's Association Greater Iowa Chapter, based in Fort Dodge.
Care for patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are estimated to top $259 billion this year, according to the association’s report.
“Those health care costs are expected to go up,” Woods added, especially as the number of diagnoses and deaths increase. The number of deaths from Alzheimer’s, nationally, has doubled in the past 14 years, he said. 
Read more in the April 19 edition.