Show-Me State Times

There were 31 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending May 8, a 38 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 8, there were 1,139 deaths in the state. 23.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21 percent were from cancer and 6.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7 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 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Heart disease	269	275
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	239	254
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	57	64
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	59
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	63
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	52
Alzheimer's disease	31	50
Diabetes mellitus	30	42
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	30
Influenza and pneumonia	14	14

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08	Number of Deaths 2021-05-01
Alzheimer disease and dementia	88	107