Hoosier State Today

There were 15 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending July 31, a 25 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 31, there were 1,269 deaths in the state. 21.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22 percent were from cancer and 6.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9 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 2021-07-31	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	279	240
Heart disease	270	253
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	71	68
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	62
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	49	31
Alzheimer's disease	48	37
Diabetes mellitus	47	40
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	38	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	19
Influenza and pneumonia	15	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24
Alzheimer disease and dementia	125	102