By Shane Wright
Dementia is poised to become the nation’s biggest killer as advances in medicine and the ageing of the population are transforming how we die.
Figures compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show heart disease – which has been the leading cause of death for Australians since at least the 1960s – is about to be replaced by dementia including Alzheimer’s disease.
Dementia is poised to become Australia’s leading cause of death.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
Total deaths through 2023 fell by more than 4 per cent on the previous year to 183,131, largely due to a sharp drop in the number of people who died from COVID-19. After 9862 people died from COVID in 2022, making it the third-largest cause of death, 5001 succumbed to the virus last year which made it the ninth most common cause of death.
While 16,922 people died from heart disease – the lowest number since 2019 – the number of dementia and Alzheimer’s victims reached 16,685.
The bureau’s head of mortality statistics, Lauren Moran, said a combination of factors was changing the leading causes of death.
“We’ve seen a drop in heart disease mortality and a rise in dementia deaths over time associated with both improvements in medical treatment and healthcare, and an ageing population,” she said.
In 1974, more than 34,600 people died from heart disease at a median age of 72.7 years. There were just 338 dementia-related deaths recorded that year with a median age at death of 80.8 years.
Last year, the median age of death from heart disease was 83.4 years, while for those with dementia the median age has climbed to 88.7.
The Bureau of Statistics noted that since 1974, the mortality rate for heart disease has fallen by 87.9 per cent, while it has increased by 843 per cent for dementia.
Dementia is already the leading cause of death among women, accounting for 12.2 per cent of all female deaths last year.
For the first time, dementia is now the leading cause of death of people in NSW, joining both South Australia and the ACT. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in all other states and territories.
“There is an expectation that if mortality continues to follow expected trajectories, dementia will be the leading cause of death in Australia in coming years,” Moran said.
Death rates for heart disease and dementia fell in 2020 and 2021, largely due to COVID-related restrictions that reduced the transmission of respiratory diseases. This turned around in 2022, largely due to the Omicron variant that swept through the country.
Other leading causes of death have changed over the years.
The COVID wave of 2022 was the first time in more than 50 years that an infectious disease was among the leading causes of death. Since 2020, almost 16,900 Australians have directly died from COVID with men accounting for 55 per cent of the deaths.
Moran noted that despite a fall in COVID deaths, and overall mortality rates, death rates remained elevated.
“Virus-related deaths and mortality rates from all causes were still higher than in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we saw record-low mortality rates,” she said.
In the early 1970s, more than 3000 people a year died in car accidents. Despite millions of extra motorists on the nation’s roads, there were 1290 car-related deaths in 2023.
According to the bureau, there were 235 deaths last year due to assault, of which 161 were men and 74 were women. The total number of deaths was one lower than in 2022.
Among female victims, the perpetrator was either a spouse or partner in almost half of all cases. Almost 60 per cent of the victims were aged between 25 and 44.
Of male victims, in 30 per cent of cases they died at the hands of a friend or acquaintance.
A growing issue is alcohol, which accounted for 1667 deaths last year. Alcohol-related deaths have climbed since the advent of the COVID pandemic.
Alcohol accounted for more deaths than illicit drugs, which were the main factor in the death of 1635 people last year. People aged between 45 and 54 are the most likely to die from drugs with the median age of female victims almost 51 years.
The bureau reported there were 3214 deaths due to suicide through the year, slightly down on 2022. The number is expected to increase as coronial inquests are completed across states and territories.
Suicide was the 16th most common cause of death, but there continues to be a large difference between the sexes. More than three-quarters of people who died were men, making it the 11th most common cause of death for males. The median age of men was 45.8 years.
Among women, suicide was the 26th most common cause of death, with the median age 44.4 years.
If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.
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