Dementia is on course to be the biggest killer in Australia, on course to overtake heart disease

An ageing population and advancements in healthcare have put dementia on course to overtake heart disease as the leading cause of death in Australia.

New statistics show the gap between dementia and heart disease deaths are now closer than ever before with just 250 deaths separating the two in 2023. as dementia-related deaths - including Alzheimer’s – continued a trajectory to the top spot in coming years.

There has been a monumental rise in dementia-related deaths across the country — which are now up by 842 per cent in the past 50 years.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, dementia-related illnesses, which included Alzheimer’s, were responsible for 16,685 deaths across the county — 1608 in WA.

A State by State breakdown showed while dementia was the second biggest cause of death in WA and nationally, in South Australia, the ACT and NSW it was now the biggest killer.

Dementia Australia Services’ advocacy and research executive director, Dr Kaele Stokes, said the data highlighted how imperative it was to look at ways to focus on brain health.

“We are increasingly aware that there is a continued growth of people living with dementia and dying with dementia,” Dr Stokes said.

“What a lot of people don’t realise, though, is that there are several modifiable risk factors that, if we take action on now, could actually reduce the risk of developing dementia by up to 45 per cent.”

Dr Stokes pointed to the 14 risk factors which could prevent or delay dementia — released by the standing Lancet Commission this year.

They include tackling physical inactivity, smoking and obesity — as well as untreated hearing or vision loss in middle age.

Dr Stokes said while information was always evolving, people could certainly decrease their risk. “That’s a really important message that a lot of Australians don’t know there are risk factors they can do something about right across their life that can make a difference to their risk of developing dementia in the first place, ” she said.

The debilitating disease, which causes the eventual loss of memory and language, was thrust into the global spotlight in 2022 when Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, right, revealed in a documentary that he had a genetic predisposition to the condition.

Not only did the actor have one copy of an unmodifiable gene linked to Alzheimer’s — he was part of a small percentage of the population which carried two.

While Hemsworth’s revelation gave much needed coverage to the disease, ABS mortality statistics head Lauren Moran said it had long been a rising concern.

She said it had actually been the leading cause of death for women since 2016.

“Women have longer life expectancy than men and as such are more likely to live to an age when they have a heightened risk of developing dementia,” she said.“(It made) up 12.2 per cent of female deaths and 6.4 per cent of male deaths in 2023.”

Overall, more than 183,000 deaths were recorded in Australia in 2023, with the ABS declaring numbers had stabilised after the World Health Organisation announced the end of the global pandemic.

Despite that, COVID-19 remains in the top ten causes of death nationally with 5001 deaths recorded in 2023. Of those, 477 were recorded in WA.

HOW TO FIGHT OFF DEMENTIA

Mental exercise – do activities like crosswords, reading, sewing and woodwork

Physical exercise – regularly engage in a mix of aerobic, resistance and flexibility and balance exercises

Sleep - establish a good sleep schedule, avoid taking sleep medications for more than two weeks and try to keep naps to 30 minutes in the early afternoon

Nutrition - eat a varied diet with something from each of the five food groups, limit foods high in unhealthy fats and watch your salt intake

Stay social - don’t withdraw from friendships or social interactions, join a group, catch up with friends on the phone

Source – Dementia Australia