Hoosier State Today

There were 48 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending March 12, a 17.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 817 deaths in the state. 22.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.4% were from cancer and 15.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	183	175
Heart disease	182	222
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	71	96
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	57	76
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	48	58
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	58
Alzheimer's disease	30	42
Diabetes mellitus	24	19
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	17
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	78	123