Show-Me State Times

There were 25 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending September 18, a 38.9 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 18, there were 1,429 deaths in the state. 21.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.1 percent were from cancer and 34.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9 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 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Heart disease	304	306
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	253	231
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	244	249
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	239	221
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	79	73
Cerebrovascular diseases	55	67
Alzheimer's disease	54	41
Diabetes mellitus	34	30
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	25	18
Influenza and pneumonia	13	20

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	113	89