Prairie State Wire

There were 25 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending March 12, a 25% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 1,712 deaths in the state. 20.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18% were from cancer and 10% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	358	352
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	308	357
Cerebrovascular diseases	97	104
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	94	116
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	84	87
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	77	89
Alzheimer's disease	59	74
Diabetes mellitus	43	47
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	30	50
Influenza and pneumonia	25	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	145	176