Prairie State Wire

There were 21 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending Aug. 13, a 34.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, there were 2,053 deaths in the state. 21.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.7% were from cancer and 5.7% 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 Aug. 13	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	466	461
Heart disease	435	444
Cerebrovascular diseases	115	118
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	85	81
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	70	99
Alzheimer's disease	59	71
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	48	75
Diabetes mellitus	47	63
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	41	55
Influenza and pneumonia	21	32

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6
Alzheimer disease and dementia	176	192