Show-Me State Times

There were 68 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending December 4, a 10.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending December 4, there were 1,306 deaths in the state. 20.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1 percent were from cancer and 23 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4 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 2021-12-04	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27
Heart disease	272	302
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	249	247
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	153	134
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	147	126
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	68	76
Cerebrovascular diseases	53	74
Alzheimer's disease	50	48
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	34	24
Diabetes mellitus	33	48
Influenza and pneumonia	22	22

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27
Alzheimer disease and dementia	123	120