Hoosier State Today

There were 17 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 30.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 1,425 deaths in the state. 20.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6% were from cancer and 5.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Heart disease	295	310
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	265	267
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	98	77
Cerebrovascular diseases	75	67
Diabetes mellitus	59	43
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	53	40
Alzheimer's disease	49	46
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	26
Influenza and pneumonia	17	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	146	141