Show-Me State Times

There were 23 deaths with nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending October 23, a 30.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 23, there were 1,277 deaths in the state. 21.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5 percent were from cancer and 18.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5 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 2021-10-23	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16
Heart disease	272	294
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	262	256
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	125	157
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	114	146
Cerebrovascular diseases	75	66
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	64	67
Alzheimer's disease	50	43
Diabetes mellitus	31	28
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	33
Influenza and pneumonia	11	19

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-23	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16
Alzheimer disease and dementia	108	125