Hoosier State Today

There were 248 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending June 24, a 11.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 1,253 deaths in the state. 23.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8% were from cancer and 0.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	290	281
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	248	279
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	82	94
Cerebrovascular diseases	54	64
Diabetes mellitus	48	41
Alzheimer's disease	30	35
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	31
Influenza and pneumonia	19	17
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	11	18
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	111	115