Show-Me State Times

There were 171 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Missouri during the week ending October 9, a 18.2 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 9, there were 1,312 deaths in the state. 21.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8 percent were from cancer and 25.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5 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 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
Heart disease	278	286
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	234	286
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	171	209
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	160	195
Alzheimer's disease	59	51
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	54
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	72
Diabetes mellitus	30	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	36
Influenza and pneumonia	10	21

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
Alzheimer disease and dementia	124	111