Dementia in Australia

In 2022–23, there were just over 12.1 million hospitalisations in Australia. Of these, about 26,300 were hospitalisations due to dementia (Table S9.1), which is equivalent to 2 out of every 1,000 hospitalisations in Australia (Table S9.4). 

Table 9.1 shows that of the hospitalisations due to dementia in 2022–23:

• there were more hospitalisations for men than women (13,500 hospitalisations compared to 12,700 hospitalisations)
• men had a higher rate of hospitalisations than women (48 hospitalisations for men and 40 hospitalisations for women, per 10,000 population aged 60 and over; Table S9.2)
• the average length of stay was 15.5 days – this was almost 6 times higher than the average length of stay of 2.7 days for all hospitalisations (AIHW 2024)
• the average length of stay was longer for men (16.4 days) than women (14.6 days).

Note: Numbers may not add up due to rounding, exact numbers can be found in Table S9.1 and Table S9.2.

Source: AIHW analysis of National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Age and sex trends in hospitalisations due to dementia

There were distinct patterns in hospitalisations due to dementia in 2022–23 by age and sex (Figure 9.1):

• The number of hospitalisations for both men and women increased with age up to 80–84 years.
• The rate of hospitalisations increased with increasing age for men and women.
• People with younger onset dementia (aged under 65) had a greater average length of stay (31 days) than older people – the average length of stay decreased with increasing age, to 12 days for people hospitalised due to dementia aged 95 and over. This trend was observed among both men and women.
• The trend of the total number of bed days was the same across all sexes, increasing with age up to 80–84 years.

Figure 9.1: Overview of hospitalisations due to dementia, by age and sex, in 2022–23

Hospitalisations due to dementia over time 

All rates have been age-standardised to adjust for population differences, providing a more accurate reflection of changes over time. Figure 9.2 shows the number and age-standardised rate of hospitalisations due to dementia between 2013–14 and 2022–23:

• Between 2016–17 and 2022–23, the number of hospitalisations due to dementia increased by 24%, while the age-standardised rate of hospitalisations remained relatively steady.
• Between 2014–15 and 2015–16 there was a large increase in both the number of hospitalisations (24% increase) and the age-standardised rate (23% increase). This increase is likely due to changes in coding for rehabilitation which came into effect in 2015–16 (for more information see Box 9.2).
• Although the numbers of hospitalisations for men and women were similar throughout the period, men consistently had higher rates of hospitalisations than women. 

Figure 9.2: Hospitalisations due to dementia: number and age-standardised rates between 2013–14 and 2022–23

Types of dementia recorded in hospitalisations due to dementia 

In 2022–23, the most common dementia types recorded in hospitalisations due to dementia were: 

• Alzheimer’s disease (30%) 
• other dementia (18%) 
• unspecified dementia (18%)
• vascular dementia (13%) (Figure 9.3).

Although not a distinct type of dementia, Delirium superimposed on dementia occurs when a person with pre-existing dementia experiences delirium, and is a common cause of hospitalisations among people with dementia. In 2022–23, 13% of hospitalisations due to dementia were for Delirium superimposed on dementia (Table S9.3). 

In the 2022–23 update, Mixed dementia, was included in Table S9.3. Mixed dementia is defined by AIHW as an admitted patient episode with a principal diagnosis of one dementia type plus an additional diagnosis of another dementia type. This method does not use linked data so a person may have different dementia types recorded in different episodes, but it is not possible to compare across episodes. 

There were just under 1,800 hospitalisations due to Mixed dementia in 2022–23 (7% of all hospitalisations due to dementia). The most common form of Mixed dementia is Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia (Dementia Australia, 2023). 

For more information on rarer dementia types, see Less common dementias.  

Figure 9.3: Hospitalisations due to dementia: percentage, by type of dementia and sex in 2022–23

How did hospitalisations due to dementia end?

In 2022–23, of the hospitalisations due to dementia:

• 39% ended in the patient being discharged home (Table S9.4). This proportion was considerably less than that for all hospitalisations in 2022–23, where 93% ended in the patient being discharged home
• 5.8% were discharged to their usual place of residence in a residential aged care facility
• 12% were transferred to a residential aged care facility which was not their usual place of residence: of these, 2 in 3 patients were aged over 80 (Table S9.5)
• 5.6% ended with the death of the patient. 

About a quarter (27%) of hospitalisations due to dementia ended with a ‘Statistical discharge’, which is when the intent of care changed during their stay in hospital (for example, from acute care to rehabilitation or palliative care). A further 8.4% of hospitalisations due to dementia ended with discharge or transfer to another acute hospital.

When Australians were hospitalised due to dementia, what other conditions did they have?

When Australians were admitted to hospital due to dementia, the most common other diagnoses (additional diagnosis and supplementary diagnosis) were:

• hypertension
• type 2 diabetes mellitus
• other functional intestinal disorders
• arthritis and osteoarthritis primary
• ischaemic heart disease (also known as coronary heart disease)
• depression.

A number of these diagnoses, such as hypertension, diabetes and depression, are modifiable risk factors for dementia. COVID-19 was the tenth most common other diagnosis for people with a hospitalisation due to dementia (Table S9.6). 

Hospitalisations due to dementia involving palliative and other end-of-life care

In 2022–23, there were about 1,700 palliative care-related hospitalisations due to dementia, accounting for 6.4% of all hospitalisations due to dementia (4.3% for palliative care and 2.1% for other end-of-life care; Table S9.7). Palliative care-related hospitalisations include hospitalisations with a care type of palliative care, in which specialist palliative care is provided, as well as hospitalisations where a palliative care diagnosis was recorded, but care was not necessarily delivered by a palliative care specialist (referred to as other end-of-life care). For more detail, see Palliative care services in Australia.

Compared to women, men tended to have higher rates of hospitalisations due to dementia involving palliative care or other end-of-life care, and this held across most age groups; for both men and women, the rate of hospitalisations increased with age. 

How do hospitalisations due to dementia vary by geographic and socioeconomic areas?

Table S9.8 shows the crude and age-standardised rates of hospitalisations due to dementia by state and territory, remoteness areas and socioeconomic areas for 2022–23. 

In 2022–23, the rate of hospitalisations due to dementia for people aged 60 and over:

• varied across states and territories – ranging from 34 hospitalisations per 10,000 population in Tasmania to 64 hospitalisations per 10,000 population in South Australia
• varied by remoteness – highest in Major cities (47 hospitalisations per 10,000 population) and lowest in Very remote areas (28 hospitalisations per 10,000 population)
• was lowest among people living in the highest socioeconomic areas (38 per 10,000 population) and highest among people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas (46 per 10,000 population). 

Socioeconomic and demographic factors such as income, education, employment, geographic access to health and social support services, as well as identifying as a First Nations or culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) person, may impact hospitalisations of people with dementia. For more information refer to Hospital care for First Nations people with dementia and Dementia in priority groups.