Show-Me State Times

There were 58 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Missouri during the week ending May 1, a 23.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 1, there were 1,164 deaths in the state. 22.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3 percent were from cancer and 9.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9 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 2021-05-01	Number of Deaths 2021-04-24
Heart disease	259	261
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	248	251
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	63	60
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	58	47
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	68
Alzheimer's disease	50	43
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	50	40
Diabetes mellitus	40	44
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	30	27
Influenza and pneumonia	14	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01	Number of Deaths 2021-04-24
Alzheimer disease and dementia	105	92