Prairie State Wire

There were 24 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending Jan. 15, a 50 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 2,801 deaths in the state. 16.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.5 percent were from cancer and 52.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	754	813
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	708	750
Heart disease	458	516
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	378	441
Cerebrovascular diseases	103	129
Alzheimer's disease	100	85
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	94	119
Diabetes mellitus	63	91
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	45	70
Influenza and pneumonia	24	48

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	238	223