Prairie State Wire

There were 13 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Illinois in the week ending July 29, making up 0.7% of total deaths by all causes in Illinois, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 29, there were 1,972 deaths in the state. 21.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7% were from cancer and 1.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8% 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	428	21.7
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	427	21.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	114	5.8
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	73	3.7
Alzheimer's disease	57	2.9
Diabetes mellitus	51	2.6
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	41	2.1
Influenza and pneumonia	27	1.4
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	13	0.7
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	0.5

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	158	8