Show-Me State Times

There were 46 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending September 25, a 35.3 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 25, there were 1,498 deaths in the state. 17.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.8 percent were from cancer and 28.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1 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 2021-09-25	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18
Heart disease	260	306
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	252	245
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	220	255
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	207	241
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	80	79
Cerebrovascular diseases	80	55
Alzheimer's disease	58	55
Diabetes mellitus	46	34
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	25
Influenza and pneumonia	20	14

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-25	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	137	114