Prairie State Wire

There were 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois in the week ending July 8, making up 0.5% of total deaths by all causes in Illinois, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 8, there were 1,957 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.6% were from cancer and 1.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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	450	23
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	443	22.6
Cerebrovascular diseases	100	5.1
Alzheimer's disease	74	3.8
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	65	3.3
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	54	2.8
Diabetes mellitus	48	2.5
Influenza and pneumonia	23	1.2
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	15	0.8
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	0.5

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	178	9.1