Show-Me State Times

There were 50 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Missouri during the week ending May 15, a 16.3 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 15, there were 1,218 deaths in the state. 22.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8 percent were from cancer and 7.3 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 2021-05-15	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08
Heart disease	272	271
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	265	239
Cerebrovascular diseases	65	49
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	58
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	50	43
Alzheimer's disease	43	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	39	35
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	24
Diabetes mellitus	26	30
Influenza and pneumonia	21	14

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-15	Number of Deaths 2021-05-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	94	88