Metro East Sun

There were 68 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Illinois during the week ending June 17, a 6.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 2,012 deaths in the state. 23.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23% were from cancer and less than 0.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Heart disease	464	414
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	463	442
Cerebrovascular diseases	108	124
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	87	90
Alzheimer's disease	68	64
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	47	58
Diabetes mellitus	39	60
Influenza and pneumonia	24	28
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	14
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	187	168