Show-Me State Times

There were 255 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending July 17, a 10.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 17, there were 1,360 deaths in the state. 18.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3 percent were from cancer and 22.9 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8 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 2021-07-17	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	263	259
Heart disease	255	285
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	160	100
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	152	91
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	74	90
Cerebrovascular diseases	63	75
Alzheimer's disease	51	43
Diabetes mellitus	32	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	28
Influenza and pneumonia	15	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	98