Prairie State Wire

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois in the week ending July 22, making up less than 0.5% of total deaths by all causes in Illinois, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 22, there were 1,941 deaths in the state. 19.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.4% were from cancer and 0.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	435	22.4
Heart disease	380	19.6
Cerebrovascular diseases	124	6.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	77	4
Alzheimer's disease	72	3.7
Diabetes mellitus	47	2.4
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	39	2
Influenza and pneumonia	28	1.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	12	0.6
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 0.5

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	183	9.4