Hoosier State Today

There were 65 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending May 22, 2021, a 1.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 22, 2021, there were 1,264 deaths in the state. 20.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2% were from cancer and 11.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% 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 May 22, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021
Heart disease	263	273
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	255	255
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	80	80
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	72	64
Cerebrovascular diseases	67	61
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	65	66
Diabetes mellitus	47	49
Alzheimer's disease	47	28
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	24
Influenza and pneumonia	13	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 22, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	125	94