Prairie State Wire

There were 69 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending April 9, a 16.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 9, there were 1,616 deaths in the state. 21.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.4% were from cancer and 2.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.8% 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 April 9	Deaths in Week Ending April 2
Heart disease	352	343
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	329	338
Cerebrovascular diseases	91	95
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	75	85
Alzheimer's disease	69	59
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	51
Diabetes mellitus	35	41
Influenza and pneumonia	27	18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	27	32
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	20	23

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 9	Deaths in Week Ending April 2
Alzheimer disease and dementia	174	156