Hoosier State Today

There were 16 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending Dec. 18, a 33.3 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 18, there were 1,189 deaths in the state. 18.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.6 percent were from cancer and 42.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7 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 2021-12-18	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	262	339
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	245	308
Heart disease	219	289
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	185	266
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	69	81
Cerebrovascular diseases	46	81
Alzheimer's disease	41	43
Diabetes mellitus	30	40
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	25	21
Influenza and pneumonia	16	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18	Number of Deaths 2021-12-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	125