Hoosier State Today

There were 357 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending Jan. 15, a 2.9 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 1,379 deaths in the state. 17.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.9 percent were from cancer and 53.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.7 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	380	384
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	357	347
Heart disease	237	273
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	206	215
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	72	89
Alzheimer's disease	58	36
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	52
Diabetes mellitus	32	46
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	20
Influenza and pneumonia	10	17

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	134	122