Prairie State Wire

There were 56 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois in the week ending Nov. 12, making up 2.5% of total deaths by all causes in Illinois, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, there were 2,251 deaths in the state. 21% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 5.8% 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	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	472	21
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	434	19.3
Cerebrovascular diseases	113	5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	102	4.5
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	75	3.3
Diabetes mellitus	69	3.1
Alzheimer's disease	66	2.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	56	2.5
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	49	2.2
Influenza and pneumonia	35	1.6

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	199	8.8