Show-Me State Times

There were 257 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending September 4, a 16 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 1,409 deaths in the state. 19.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.3 percent were from cancer and 37.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.5 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 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Heart disease	280	293
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	276	322
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	257	306
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	244	265
Cerebrovascular diseases	70	56
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	65	66
Alzheimer's disease	48	56
Diabetes mellitus	37	35
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	30	41
Influenza and pneumonia	14	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	105	136