Show-Me State Times

There were 60 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in Missouri during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 17.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 1,082 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 9.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.1% 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	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Heart disease	249	272
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	233	251
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	60	73
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	58	55
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	63
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	46	55
Alzheimer's disease	39	43
Diabetes mellitus	37	30
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	27
Influenza and pneumonia	16	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	90