Prairie State Wire

There were 33 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending Oct. 8, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 8, there were 2,111 deaths in the state. 22.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1% were from cancer and 5.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10% 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 Oct. 8	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1
Heart disease	480	468
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	425	443
Cerebrovascular diseases	117	111
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	87	80
Alzheimer's disease	84	77
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	69	81
Diabetes mellitus	57	74
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	44	50
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	40	53
Influenza and pneumonia	33	33

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1
Alzheimer disease and dementia	212	206