Hoosier State Today

There were 84 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, a 12% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, there were 1,363 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 5.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 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 Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Heart disease	293	271
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	280	271
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	84	75
Cerebrovascular diseases	73	65
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	47	62
Diabetes mellitus	46	45
Alzheimer's disease	40	38
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	25	34
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	41
Influenza and pneumonia	19	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	122	135