DES MOINES - Alzheimer's disease continues to move up the list of the top causes for deaths among Iowans.

The incurable, degenerative and terminal disease first identified in 1906 now ranks fifth among Iowa's morbidity rates, according to the 2008 vital statistics data issued by the state Department of Public Health, moving ahead of accidental or unintentional injuries that include motor vehicle mishaps.

"We've been seeing the numbers increase exponentially," said Carol Siple, executive director for the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Iowa.

Experts say the climb of Alzheimer's - the most common form of dementia generally diagnosed in people over 65 years of age - as a major cause of death in Iowa reflects better methods of identifying the ailment, improved medical treatments for other death threats, and the fact that more Iowans are living longer.

"We're able to do a better job of diagnosis and, on top of that, there's not as much of a stigma with the disease so people aren't afraid to say I have dementia or I have Alzheimer's like they may have been in the past," Siple said.

With medical advancements to treat other Iowa major causes of death, such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory ailments or stroke, people are living longer and aging is one of the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, she noted.

"What's going to happen on top of that is as the baby boom generation gets older and reaches 70, 80, 90 years old, we're going to see even more cases of Alzheimer's disease," Siple added. "If something doesn't change, if we don't find ways through research to treat the disease or prevent it or cure it, it is imaginable that its ranking will increase higher than five."

The data was contained in a new state report that indicated more Iowans died in 2008 than in each of the previous 34 years.

A total of 28,370 deaths were reported to the state Department of Public Health last year, the most since 1974 when 38,730 Iowans passed away.

Nine of the top 10 causes of death for Iowans posted categorical increases as well, with heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke and Alzheimer's disease topping the list of maladies that proved fatal to Iowa residents last year, according to the health department's preliminary data.

"I think over time we'll probably see an increase in the number of deaths just because we have an aging population in the state," said Jill France, deputy state registrar with the state Department of Public Health.

Even though the raw number of deaths was up in 2008, the rate per 1,000 residents was 9.4 compared to 9.9 per 1,000 residents in 1999, she said. The death rate decline is partly a function of the numbers since Iowa's population grew from 2,869,000 in 1999 to 3,002,555 last year - the first time Iowa topped the 3 million plateau.

Alzheimer's disease moved up two places to the fifth-highest cause of deaths in Iowa in 2008, with the 1,331 deaths eclipsing accidental deaths at 1,247. Another 825 Iowans died from influenza or pneumonia last year while suicides accounted for 376 deaths, up from 322 in 2007.

For the first time in seven years, live births in Iowa posted a decline in 2008 with 40,221 successful deliveries, including 3,629 babies born to mothers under the age of 20. Iowa also saw 231 fetal deaths, 140 neonatal deaths, 226 infant deaths and seven maternal deaths last year, according to the 2008 preliminary vital records report.

Also last year, fewer Iowa couples got married while more got divorced than in 2007. A total of 19,566 marriages were performed in 2008, down 329 from the previous year, while 7,752 marriages dissolved last year, an increase of 130.