Hoosier State Today

There were 252 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 3.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 1,212 deaths in the state. 21% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.8% were from cancer and 8.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.8% 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 July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Heart disease	254	264
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	252	260
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	68	76
Cerebrovascular diseases	63	70
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	63	52
Alzheimer's disease	46	51
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	42	38
Diabetes mellitus	40	39
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	23
Influenza and pneumonia	13	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	131	128