Hoosier State Today

There were 12 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending July 24, a 33.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 24, there were 1,180 deaths in the state. 21.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3 percent were from cancer and 4.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6 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 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Heart disease	249	250
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	240	263
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	73
Cerebrovascular diseases	61	76
Diabetes mellitus	40	48
Alzheimer's disease	37	43
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	31	32
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	21
Influenza and pneumonia	12	18

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	102	103