Dementia deaths rise as heart disease falls
Death from dementia continues to increase, as deaths from heart disease have fallen steadily over the decade, according to new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Death from dementia continues to increase, as deaths from heart disease have fallen steadily over the decade, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday.
While heart disease remains the leading cause of death, with 20,046 deaths in 2012, new statistics show this has fallen steadily since 2003, accounting for 14% of all deaths in 2012 compared to 19% of all deaths in 2003.
James Eynstone-Hinkins, ABS director of the Health and Vitals Statistics Unit, explains there were 10,779 deaths from Cerebrovascular diseases (including haemorrhages, strokes, infarctions and blocked arteries of the brain) in 2012, making these the second most common cause of death.
“Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease was the third leading cause of death, accounting for 10,369 or 7% of all deaths in 2012. Most (95%) of these deaths occurred in people aged 75 years or over,” Mr Eynstone-Hinkins says.
For women, dementia and Alzheimer's disease has reportedly overtaken Cerebrovascular diseases as the second leading cause of death in 2012, while breast cancer remained the sixth most common cause of death.
For men, lung cancer remains the second leading cause of death. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease is now the fifth leading cause, replacing prostate cancer which is now ranked sixth.
For more information, read the full report Causes of Death, Australia, available for free download.
