Hoosier State Today

There were 159 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Indiana during the week ending August 21, a 51.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 21, there were 1,421 deaths in the state. 18.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9 percent were from cancer and 21.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7 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 2021-08-21	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	283	259
Heart disease	261	265
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	159	105
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	151	97
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	89	96
Cerebrovascular diseases	67	60
Diabetes mellitus	46	56
Alzheimer's disease	39	39
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	34
Influenza and pneumonia	17	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14
Alzheimer disease and dementia	110	103