Prairie State Wire

There were 41 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending Jan. 1, a 24.2 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 1, there were 2,548 deaths in the state. 17.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.7 percent were from cancer and 39.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8 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 2022-01-01	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	524	512
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	486	487
Heart disease	445	462
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	399	455
Cerebrovascular diseases	124	131
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	86	106
Alzheimer's disease	82	86
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	68	59
Diabetes mellitus	67	57
Influenza and pneumonia	41	33

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-01	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25
Alzheimer disease and dementia	198	210