Prairie State Wire

There were 34 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending June 18, a 47.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, there were 1,899 deaths in the state. 19.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 6.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 June 18	Deaths in Week Ending June 11
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	393	413
Heart disease	378	409
Cerebrovascular diseases	119	106
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	97	83
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	78	70
Alzheimer's disease	70	67
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	53	50
Diabetes mellitus	52	64
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	47	45
Influenza and pneumonia	34	23

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18	Deaths in Week Ending June 11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	167	152