Hoosier State Today

There were 14 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending October 30, a 40 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 30, there were 1,492 deaths in the state. 18.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3 percent were from cancer and 22.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4 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 2021-10-30	Number of Deaths 2021-10-23
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	288	267
Heart disease	270	280
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	181	216
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	160	200
Cerebrovascular diseases	80	69
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	76	90
Alzheimer's disease	51	47
Diabetes mellitus	48	46
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	40	16
Influenza and pneumonia	14	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30	Number of Deaths 2021-10-23
Alzheimer disease and dementia	125	116