• issue no. 34, November 2012
• previous issues

Dementia in Australia

What is the leading cause of disability burden in older Australians?

What condition do an estimated 298,000 Australians have?

The answer is dementia.

The AIHW’s second Dementia in Australia report presents an in-depth look at the topic, illustrated by the latest available data and information on trends over time.

The report was prepared by Adriana Vanden Heuvel, Charles Hudson and Jessica Cargill from the Ageing and Aged Care Unit.

Dementia in Australia synthesises information from over 20 different data sources to provide the most comprehensive picture of the topic currently available.

One of the major changes compared with the first report released in 2007 is that revised estimates of the prevalence of dementia are presented.

These estimates are based on the most current rates available, with the number of people with dementia projected to triple to around 900,000 people by 2050.

Data from the Aged Care Funding Instrument, introduced in 2008, were used to describe the characteristics and care needs of residents with dementia in government-subsidised aged care facilities.

These data show that just over half (53%) of permanent residents in residential aged care facilities had dementia and that 87% of these residents required a high level of care. This compares with 63% of residents without dementia requiring a high level of care.

The report covers new topics such as the use of specialised mental health services, palliative care hospitalisations and mortality due to dementia.

In 2010, dementia was recorded as the underlying cause of 9,003 deaths in Australia— an average of 25 each day.

This places dementia as the third leading cause of death in Australia behind ischaemic heart diseases (such as heart attacks) and cerebrovascular diseases (such as strokes).

Because of the increased sample size of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Disability Ageing and Carers, the report authors were able to present the most detailed picture yet of the estimated 70% of people with dementia living in the community, and the 200,000 people who provide informal care for them.

Dementia can place a heavy burden on carers—everything from loss of sleep to loss of income if the carer has to reduce work hours.

The report shows that co-resident primary carers were almost twice as likely as carers of people without dementia to provide 40 or more hours of care per week.

New estimates of dementia expenditure are provided in the report for an expanded range of programs, including consumer support programs, respite services and flexible aged care services.

Around $4.9 billion was spent in 2009–10 on people with dementia, of which about $2 billion was directly attributable to the condition. Of this, $1.1 billion was for permanent residents in government-subsidised residential aged care facilities.

Head of the Ageing and Aged Care Unit, Judith Abercromby, said the decision of health ministers in August this year to designate dementia as the ninth National Health Priority Area may help drive additional research and awareness-raising activities in Australia.

The Ageing and Aged Care Unit is writing a follow-up paper to the report that will consider the strengths and limitations of dementia-related data sources, and make recommendations on how to improve these data collections.

Dementia in Australia, released on 27 September 2012