Hoosier State Today

There were 85 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 1.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 1,168 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.5% were from cancer and 8.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Heart disease	269	263
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	263	296
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	85	86
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	61	72
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	63
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	42	50
Alzheimer's disease	25	40
Diabetes mellitus	23	43
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	29
Influenza and pneumonia	11	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	100	118