Hoosier State Today

There were 39 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 34.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 1,409 deaths in the state. 20.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 6.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	290	295
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	289	265
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	91	98
Cerebrovascular diseases	73	75
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	55	53
Alzheimer's disease	44	49
Diabetes mellitus	42	59
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	39	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	29
Influenza and pneumonia	12	17

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	132	146