Prairie State Wire

There were 86 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending March 5, a 39.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 1,771 deaths in the state. 19.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20% were from cancer and 11.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	354	366
Heart disease	339	385
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	113	180
Cerebrovascular diseases	102	122
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	86	142
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	85	77
Alzheimer's disease	74	75
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	50	42
Diabetes mellitus	45	60
Influenza and pneumonia	21	31

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	174	179