news
Ageing Australia
and its impact
Dementia remains the leading cause of disability
among older Australians, report says.
N
ew findings have highlighted the extent of cognitive
ageing and decline across Australia.
Conducted by the ARC Centre of Excellence in
Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) and Neuroscience Research
Australia (NeuRA), the report highlights the lifestyle factors
attributed to the prevalence of dementia, its impact on families
and carers, and the cost to the economy.
Dementia remains the leading cause of disability among
Australians over 65, and the second leading cause of death. Last
year the direct costs of dementia were estimated at $9 billion, with
this figure expected to reach $12 billion by 2025.
Innovative ‘microtown’
‘Radical’ new residential aged care
facility to be built in Sunshine State.
A
“microtown” for seniors with complex care needs has
been confirmed for Queensland, and will help those with
younger onset dementia.
NewDirection Care announced the “inclusive” residential care
community would be built between Brisbane and the Sunshine
Coast, and designed to encourage residents to be independent,
interactive and involved.
Founder and chief executive Natasha Chadwick said the Bellmere
facility would help meet the demand of the growing residential aged
care sector, which is expected to require 83,500 new places by 2025.
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agedcareinsite.com.au
CEPAR chief investigator Professor Kaarin Anstey said the report
showed rates of dementia continued to double every five years or
so, and stressed that our current ageing population trends would
only contribute to this increase.
“Australia’s ageing population is leading to an increasing
number of Australians with the disease, which will further impact
individuals, society and the economy over the next decade,”
Anstey said.
“The report also found that the knowledge-base around the
cause of dementia in the senior community varied greatly, raising
the need for in-depth dementia awareness workshops and
community involvement.
“While some detrimental attributing factors to dementia such
as smoking and alcohol consumption were known, other factors
connected to cognitive health were unknown to over 95 per cent
of the sample population – this highlights the need for increased
local community engagement and advocacy.”
Anstey estimated that about 50 per cent of dementia cases
could be attributed to seven key lifestyle factors: midlife
hypertension, diabetes, low educational attainment, smoking,
physical inactivity, mid-life obesity and depression.
The report noted the impact of dementia not just on the health
of the individual, but also on wider society. For example, those
with dementia a