Prairie State Wire

There were 80 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois in the week ending Dec. 17, making up 3.6% of total deaths by all causes in Illinois, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 17, there were 2,230 deaths in the state. 22.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.5% 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	496	22.2
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	427	19.1
Cerebrovascular diseases	123	5.5
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	120	5.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	106	4.8
Alzheimer's disease	93	4.2
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	80	3.6
Influenza and pneumonia	69	3.1
Diabetes mellitus	65	2.9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	56	2.5

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	235	10.5