Prairie State Wire

There were 78 deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases reported in Illinois in the week ending Feb. 12, making up 4.1 percent of total deaths by all causes in Illinois, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 12, there were 1,911 deaths in the state. 18.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.9 percent were from cancer and 30.8 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
Heart disease	359	18.8
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	315	16.5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	303	15.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	274	14.3
Cerebrovascular diseases	96	5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	78	4.1
Alzheimer's disease	74	3.9
Diabetes mellitus	39	2
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	2
Influenza and pneumonia	16	0.8