Prairie State Wire

There were 82 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Illinois in the week ending Nov. 5, making up 3.7% of total deaths by all causes in Illinois, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, there were 2,211 deaths in the state. 20.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.4% were from cancer and 6.2% 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	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	462	20.9
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	452	20.4
Cerebrovascular diseases	133	6
Alzheimer's disease	106	4.8
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	98	4.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	82	3.7
Diabetes mellitus	79	3.6
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	55	2.5
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	1.7
Influenza and pneumonia	27	1.2

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	239	10.8