Hoosier State Today

There were 322 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Indiana during the week ending Jan. 22, a 29.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 22, there were 1,160 deaths in the state. 16.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.9 percent were from cancer and 52.2 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 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	322	458
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	283	420
Heart disease	193	272
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	184	258
Cerebrovascular diseases	66	67
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	64	82
Diabetes mellitus	39	41
Alzheimer's disease	33	64
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	31	33
Influenza and pneumonia	17	14

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	101	151