Dementia deaths have doubled since 2009, making it Australia’s top cause of death and it’s only set to grow.
Dementia has surpassed heart disease and cancer to become the leading cause of death for Australians.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) Dementia in Australia report found that there were 17,400 deaths because of dementia in 2023, with more women than men dying due to the condition.
For women, it’s the leading cause of death, whereas coronary heart disease still claims more men.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Dementia Action Week (15-21 September) Dementia Australia CEO Professor Tanya Buchanan said the report shows the enormous impact dementia has on Australian families.
“These figures highlight just how many families are impacted by dementia across Australia. Most of us know someone who is or has been impacted by dementia,” Professor Buchanan said.
The AIHW statistics differ from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ estimates, which say ischaemic heart disease is the leading cause of death.
Although both bodies include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and unspecified dementia when reporting dementia-related deaths, the AIHW list also includes other dementias, such as Lewy body dementia.
“Less than 5% of deaths due to dementia in 2023 were caused by other dementias, but due to the small difference between dementia and coronary heart disease in 2023 this was enough to change the relative order of the leading cause of death for persons,” the AIHW report explained.
The growth of dementia
The report highlighted that between 2009 and 2023, deaths due to dementia more than doubled. There were 8500 deaths in 2009 compared to 17,400 deaths in the most recent figures.
It’s also the second leading cause of disease burden in Australia in 2024, behind coronary heart disease. For women and Australians over 80, it’s the leading cause of disease burden.
“The total burden of dementia was just over 262,000 DALY, with 59% of burden attributable to dying prematurely and 41% from the impacts of living with dementia,” the report said.
In 2024, it’s estimated that 425,000 Australians were living with dementia. As the increase is in part a reflection of more Australians living to older ages, these figures are expected to increase 2.5-fold to over one million by 2065.
Age isn’t the only factor, however. Forty-three percent of the dementia burden in Australia can be attributed to six modifiable risk factors:
- being overweight or obese;
- physical inactivity;
- high blood sugar;
- high blood pressure in midlife;
- Smoking; and
- impaired kidney function.
“While 2065 may seem far away (40 years), these timeframes are relevant to the early and mid-life prevention measures that can decrease the risk of developing dementia in later years.
“As there is currently no cure for dementia, minimising modifiable risks is currently the best way to prevent dementia,” the report said.
The impact on the health system
In 2023–24, about 27,800 hospitalisations were due to dementia, which is equivalent to one out of every 455 hospitalisations in Australia. Of those hospitalisations, there were more men than women (14,100 hospitalisations compared to 13,700 hospitalisations).
The average length of stay was 15 days, which is almost six times higher than the average length of stay of 2.7 days for all hospitalisations. Men stayed longer in hospital on average (16 days vs 14 days for women).
The report also found there was a 31% increase in the number of hospitalisations due to dementia between 2016-17 and 2023-24. The age-standardised rate of hospitalisations remained relatively steady.
At the end of their hospital stay in 2023-4:
- 37% of people with dementia were discharged home;
- 9.7% were discharged to their usual place of residence in a residential aged care facility;
- 9.4% were transferred to a residential aged care facility which was not their usual place of residence. (Of these, two in three patients were aged over 80);
- 5.1% ended with the death of the patient;
- 29% ended with a “statistical discharge”. This is when the intent of care changed during their stay (eg, moving from acute care to rehabilitation or palliative care); and
- 8.2% were transferred to another acute hospital.
The report said Australia’s response to dementia requires economic investment across the health, aged care and welfare sectors.
“It is estimated that almost $3.7 billion of health and aged care spending in 2020-21 was directly attributable to the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with dementia,” the report said.
The largest share of expenditure was in residential aged care services (49% or $1.8 billion), followed by community-based aged care (20% or $741 million) and hospital services (18% or $662 million).
“With dementia now the leading cause of death for Australians it is more pressing than ever that the federal government commit to funding a national conversation on dementia to raise awareness and promote brain health at all ages.
“By taking a comprehensive approach to addressing dementia, we can reduce the impact of dementia into the future. With aged care across the country already under pressure, and the number of people living with dementia expected to exceed one million by 2065, we simply cannot afford to wait. We call on the government to take decisive action. People living with dementia, their families and carers are depending on us to do this right, and to do it now,” Professor Buchanan said.
Read the AIHW Dementia Report.
