Show-Me State Times

There were 30 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending Jan. 15, a 33.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 1,118 deaths in the state. 19 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.5 percent were from cancer and 52 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.9 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	299	316
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	282	291
Heart disease	212	297
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	162	220
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	67	74
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	58
Alzheimer's disease	30	45
Diabetes mellitus	29	31
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	26	24
Influenza and pneumonia	16	29

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	77	99