Prairie State Wire

There were 38 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending June 25, a 22.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 25, there were 1,914 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.3% were from cancer and 5.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 25	Deaths in Week Ending June 18
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	427	406
Heart disease	420	389
Cerebrovascular diseases	117	119
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	101	101
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	69	82
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	55	56
Alzheimer's disease	55	72
Diabetes mellitus	53	54
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	38	49
Influenza and pneumonia	29	34

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 25	Deaths in Week Ending June 18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	164	173