Prairie State Wire

There were 60 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending Jan. 22, a 24.1 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 22, there were 2,796 deaths in the state. 16.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.8 percent were from cancer and 53.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6 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 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	780	870
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	706	805
Heart disease	449	536
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	386	442
Cerebrovascular diseases	113	124
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	103	106
Alzheimer's disease	96	107
Diabetes mellitus	60	79
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	54	52
Influenza and pneumonia	35	35

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	240	253