Prairie State Wire

There were 11 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending June 24, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 1,998 deaths in the state. 20.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.7 percent were from cancer and 1.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1 percent 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 2023-06-24	Number of Deaths 2023-06-17
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	453	463
Heart disease	413	464
Cerebrovascular diseases	117	108
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	88	87
Alzheimer's disease	63	68
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	53	47
Diabetes mellitus	50	39
Influenza and pneumonia	33	24
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	14	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	11	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2023-06-24	Number of Deaths 2023-06-17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	182	187