Dementia set to become Australia’s leading cause of death

Dementia is on the brink of overtaking heart disease as the leading cause of death in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which says the 250 deaths between the two conditions are “the closest they have ever been”.

In 2023, which recorded 183,131 deaths nationally, the five leading causes of death were heart disease, dementia (including Alzheimer’s), cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease, ABS data revealed.

Covid fell to the ninth leading cause of death, from third in 2022.

If mortality trends continue to follow expected trajectories, dementia will be the leading cause of death in Australia “in coming years”, the report said.

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Source: The Guardian, 10 October 2024