ABS data shows dementia now the leading cause of death nationwide

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia, overtaking heart disease. That's according to new data from the Australia Bureau of Statistics.  The figures show the number of deaths caused by dementia has risen by 39 per cent over the past decade. Earlier we spoke to the director of the Aging Futures Institute at the University of NSW Kaarin Anstey who says the rise is being driven by several factors.

Transcript

00:00The main one is that we have population ageing, and most people die of dementia when they're

00:07very old, so in their 80s and 90s, but there's a couple of other contributing factors.

00:12One is that we're seeing a reduction in deaths from heart disease, and another one is that

00:17there has been a change in the way deaths are recorded on death certificates.

00:22So we're getting more accurate data now about the actual number of people who are dying

00:25with dementia.

00:26And we're also seeing, with people living longer, that they have more conditions they're

00:32managing, including dementia, it can be a complex number of factors.

00:36Yes, that's right, we're seeing people living longer with chronic diseases because we have

00:42better treatments.

00:43So like I said, we're seeing people living longer with heart disease, people surviving

00:48cancer, so people are surviving into old age, but we're not seeing that compression and morbidity,

00:54we're seeing they're living with a number of chronic conditions.

00:56While we all age, how preventable is dementia?

01:00What can be done to reduce the risks?

01:03Well, there's quite a lot that we can do to reduce the risks.

01:07I mean, there are genetic causes of dementia, but we also know that about 45 to 50% of dementia

01:13cases can be attributed to modifiable risk factors.

01:17And they include things like low education, cardiovascular risk factors, particularly in middle age, like

01:24high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, depression, very heavy alcohol use.

01:31In later life, we see risk factors like social isolation, air pollution.

01:35So there's quite a lot that can be done to reduce your risk of dementia.

01:40And this can be scaled up to the population level.

01:42So we feel that if there were major prevention programs, we could see a reduction in incident

01:48dementia.

01:49And on that note, what does this data tell us about the priorities in terms of where to

01:54invest the money?

01:55Well, I mean, that's a great question.

01:59There's a number of areas that need urgent investment.

02:02We need investment in dementia care.

02:04We need things like key navigators with the new age care reforms.

02:08We need to see support for people living with dementia.

02:12We need investment in health services, particularly with new drugs coming online.

02:15We need the infrastructure for those.

02:18But we also need to really focus on prevention.

02:21And that needs to be really a whole of government approach, because prevention of dementia needs

02:26to take a life course approach.

02:27We need to build healthy brains in children.

02:30We need to have healthy food, physical activity.

02:32There needs to be more education of health care professionals.

02:36And the risk reduction needs to be much more prominent in our public health sort of thinking.

02:41So we hear about, you know, skin cancer prevention.

02:43We hear about heart disease prevention.

02:45But dementia prevention hasn't really made it into that level of sort of public consciousness

02:50So we really need a big boost in public awareness and investment in prevention of dementia.

02:56And is there still a great lack of awareness around dementia and even a stigma?

03:01And how much does that can contribute to the fact that there isn't this investment that's

03:06needed in dementia prevention?

03:07Yes, there actually is a lack of awareness in the Australian community.

03:12So the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has conducted a survey to find out how

03:18much the public actually know about dementia and whether they can recognise the main risk factors.

03:23And there's still an alarming number of people who think dementia is a normal part of ageing.

03:28And there's a lot that we need to do to de-stigmatise it.

03:32Just educate people about dementia, that it's a brain disease and what can be done to prevent it.

03:38And then the upcoming treatments as well.

03:41The problem with the stigma is it prevents people from seeking help early and getting the care and

03:47support that they need and the time to make important decisions about their life.

03:52All right, Kyren Ernstie, Director of the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute.

03:56We really appreciate your time and insights this morning.

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