Prairie State Wire

There were 442 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending Dec. 25, a 18.2 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 25, there were 2,419 deaths in the state. 16.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.1 percent were from cancer and 37.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	464	404
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	442	374
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	413	435
Heart disease	408	500
Cerebrovascular diseases	125	135
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	95	77
Alzheimer's disease	84	76
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	53	45
Diabetes mellitus	50	60
Influenza and pneumonia	32	35

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	193	193