Hoosier State Today

There were 78 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending July 3, a 5.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 3, there were 1,225 deaths in the state. 19.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5 percent were from cancer and 4.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8 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 2021-07-03	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	251	264
Heart disease	239	260
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	78	74
Cerebrovascular diseases	69	67
Diabetes mellitus	39	39
Alzheimer's disease	37	42
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	31	45
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	26
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	108	96