Show-Me State Times

There were 67 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Missouri in the week ending March 5, making up 8.2% of total deaths by all causes in Missouri, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 817 deaths in the state. 22.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and 17.6% were from COVID-19.

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	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	181	22.2
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	166	20.3
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	77	9.4
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	67	8.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	6.4
Cerebrovascular diseases	39	4.8
Alzheimer's disease	38	4.7
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	2.7
Diabetes mellitus	19	2.3
Influenza and pneumonia	14	1.7