Show-Me State Times

There were 20 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending September 11, a 42.9 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 11, there were 1,389 deaths in the state. 21.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.9 percent were from cancer and 32.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.4 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 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Heart disease	301	292
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	249	248
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	229	280
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	219	261
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	72	68
Cerebrovascular diseases	67	70
Alzheimer's disease	41	48
Diabetes mellitus	30	38
Influenza and pneumonia	20	14
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	30

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04
Alzheimer disease and dementia	89	105