Show-Me State Times

There were 98 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri during the week ending Feb. 26, a 50.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 26, there were 989 deaths in the state. 23.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5 percent were from cancer and 21.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2 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 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Heart disease	235	220
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	183	226
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	116	225
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	98	197
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	66	73
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	49
Alzheimer's disease	42	50
Influenza and pneumonia	25	15
Diabetes mellitus	25	16
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	27

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	91	106