Show-Me State Times

There were 320 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Missouri during the week ending August 28, a 6 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 28, there were 1,544 deaths in the state. 18.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.1 percent were from cancer and 40.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8 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 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	320	302
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	304	286
Heart disease	288	293
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	264	282
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	65	64
Alzheimer's disease	56	48
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	62
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	41	30
Diabetes mellitus	33	24
Influenza and pneumonia	13	14

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Alzheimer disease and dementia	136	105