Hoosier State Today

There were 85 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Indiana during the week ending March 5, a 36.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 868 deaths in the state. 22.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18% were from cancer and 17.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.8% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	192	225
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	156	198
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	85	134
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	68	110
Cerebrovascular diseases	55	70
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	61
Alzheimer's disease	38	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	30
Diabetes mellitus	15	33
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	111	102