Show-Me State Times

There were 277 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending June 19, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 19, there were 1,183 deaths in the state. 23.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21 percent were from cancer and 9.2 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 2021-06-19	Number of Deaths 2021-06-12
Heart disease	277	277
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	249	238
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	76	67
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	56	64
Cerebrovascular diseases	55	53
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	53	54
Alzheimer's disease	46	40
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	33	35
Diabetes mellitus	23	43
Influenza and pneumonia	14	14

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19	Number of Deaths 2021-06-12
Alzheimer disease and dementia	91	96