Show-Me State Times

There were 60 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending November 20, a 14.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 20, there were 1,301 deaths in the state. 23.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9 percent were from cancer and 16.8 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 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Heart disease	308	298
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	259	286
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	112	98
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	106	91
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	60	70
Cerebrovascular diseases	60	76
Alzheimer's disease	46	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	34
Diabetes mellitus	35	30
Influenza and pneumonia	13	19

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Alzheimer disease and dementia	101	106