Show-Me State Times

There were 156 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Missouri during the week ending October 16, a 10.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 16, there were 1,360 deaths in the state. 21.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.7 percent were from cancer and 22.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2 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 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Heart disease	291	285
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	254	235
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	156	174
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	145	162
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	57
Cerebrovascular diseases	65	48
Alzheimer's disease	43	59
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	33	29
Diabetes mellitus	28	31
Influenza and pneumonia	19	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Alzheimer disease and dementia	125	125