Prairie State Wire

There were 81 deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases reported in Illinois in the week ending Jan. 15, making up 3.3 percent of total deaths by all causes in Illinois, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 2,482 deaths in the state. 16 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.6 percent were from cancer and 52.9 percent were from COVID-19.

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	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	676	27.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	636	25.6
Heart disease	397	16
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	338	13.6
Alzheimer's disease	93	3.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	90	3.6
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	81	3.3
Diabetes mellitus	50	2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	42	1.7
Influenza and pneumonia	23	0.9