Medical Forum
Dementia now causes one in ten deaths
Dementia now accounts for more than 10% of all deaths in Australia for the first time, making it the leading cause of death for a second year in a row.
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Medical Forum
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show there were 19,019 deaths linked to dementia in 2025, up from 18,291 in 2024.
It’s almost double the rates reported in 2006 when dementia was the fourth leading cause of death in the country, accounting for just 5% of all deaths.
Dementia Australia chief executive Professor Tanya Buchanan said the data reinforces the urgent need to act now and raise awareness of the condition as a leading public health issue.
“The data underlines the critical need for more recognition and funding to support people living with dementia, their families and carers,” she said.
“Despite the growing impact of dementia, investment in specific services, supports and prevention have not kept the same pace, and the stigma that surrounds dementia continues. This needs to change.
“There are an estimated 446,500 Australians currently living with dementia, and a further 1.7 million people involved in their care. Without significant intervention, this is expected to increase to more than one million by 2065.”
In WA, an estimated 43,000 people are living with dementia – a number projected to reach 87,000 by 2054.
Dementia has been the leading cause of death among Australia women since 2016, and the latest round of data was no different.
There were almost twice as many deaths from dementia than ischaemic heart diseases, the second leading cause of death for women. Women accounted for 61.1% of all dementia deaths.
While dementia cannot be cured, recent WA research identified 14 potentially modifiable risk factors across and estimated that addressing them could prevent or delay up to 45% of dementia cases.
They included less education, hearing loss, high LDL cholesterol, depression, traumatic brain injury, physical inactivity, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, social isolation, air pollution and untreated vision loss.
Dr Jennifer Dunna and Professor Blossom Stephan, who were involved in the research, wrote a CPD module for Medical Forum exploring the role GPs play in dementia care and prevention.
“Dementia prevention does not necessarily require a separate program in general practice. Many actions likely to support dementia risk reduction are already part of good primary care,” they wrote.
“A practical approach is to bring a brain-health lens to preventive care already occurring in general practice, including cardiovascular risk, diabetes, smoking, mental health and healthy-ageing reviews.”
Learn more and collect your CPD hours here.