Show-Me State Times

There were 37 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending November 6, a 19.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 6, there were 1,299 deaths in the state. 22.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5 percent were from cancer and 15.9 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 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
Heart disease	295	291
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	240	283
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	107	120
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	100	109
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	76	68
Cerebrovascular diseases	62	64
Alzheimer's disease	40	46
Diabetes mellitus	37	31
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	26	37
Influenza and pneumonia	16	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-06	Number of Deaths 2021-10-30
Alzheimer disease and dementia	110	102