Prairie State Wire

There were 54 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois in the week ending Dec. 24, making up 2.6% of total deaths by all causes in Illinois, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 24, there were 2,113 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 6.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7% 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	23.5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	408	19.3
Cerebrovascular diseases	119	5.6
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	100	4.7
Alzheimer's disease	88	4.2
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	77	3.6
Diabetes mellitus	73	3.5
Influenza and pneumonia	63	3
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	54	2.6
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	49	2.3

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	226	10.7