Hoosier State Today

There were 24 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending March 19, 2022, a 60% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 19, 2022, there were 840 deaths in the state. 22% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5% were from cancer and 7.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13.9% 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 March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Heart disease	185	200
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	155	194
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	64	50
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	46
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	39	76
Alzheimer's disease	38	32
Diabetes mellitus	33	26
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	60
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	17
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	117	84