Hoosier State Today

There were 41 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending July 9, 2022, a 32.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 9, 2022, there were 1,024 deaths in the state. 24.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.6% were from cancer and 4.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13.1% 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 July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Heart disease	248	233
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	221	245
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	79	75
Cerebrovascular diseases	47	59
Alzheimer's disease	41	31
Diabetes mellitus	33	48
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	27	46
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	21	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	29
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	134	96