Listen: Nicola Brunton President of the Sunshine Coast Dementia Alliance joins Salt 106.5's Steve D
By Steve DunsterTuesday 14 Mar 2023The Long Lunch with SteveNewsReading Time: 2 minutes
Dementia has overtaken coronary heart disease as the leading cause of disease burden among Australians aged 65 and over.
The latest update to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) compendium report Dementia in Australia shows that dementia was responsible for almost 230,000 years of healthy life lost among people aged 65 and over in 2022, a 61% increase since 2011.
‘Dementia is an umbrella term for a group of conditions that gradually impair brain function that may impact memory, speech, cognition (thought), personality, behaviour. It is an increasing cause of disease burden in Australia, largely due to our ageing population but also from declines in burden from other leading causes, such as coronary heart disease,’ said AIHW spokesperson Melanie Dunford.
Nicola Brunton President of the Sunshine Coast Dementia Alliance joins Salt 106.5’s Steve D to discuss this latest report, the impact of dementia on families and the wonderful opportunities for support that the Sunshine Coast Dementia Alliance offer.
Listen to full interview in the player above.
‘Dementia was responsible for 4.4% of Australia’s disease burden in 2022, which includes both the impact of living with the condition (the non-fatal burden of disease) and dying prematurely (fatal burden), and was the 2nd leading cause of death in Australia in 2020, accounting for 9.6% of all deaths.’
Along with reports like that from AIWH, prominent families, like that of Bruce Willis, speaking up about their experiences, the needs of individuals and families through this time, help to bring awareness to the impact of dementia, and help others find support.
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