Show-Me State Times

There were 108 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending October 30, a 6.9 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 30, there were 1,303 deaths in the state. 21.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.6 percent were from cancer and 17.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8 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 2021-10-30	Number of Deaths 2021-10-23
Heart disease	282	279
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	281	266
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	119	128
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	108	116
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	64
Cerebrovascular diseases	63	76
Alzheimer's disease	46	52
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	36	23
Diabetes mellitus	30	33
Influenza and pneumonia	13	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30	Number of Deaths 2021-10-23
Alzheimer disease and dementia	102	110