Dementia deaths down
Death rate for people with dementia dropped in pandemic .
The death rate among people with dementia was down during the COVID-19 pandemic , new data shows . The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ( AIHW ) report found that the slight drop occurred over the first 10 months of 2020 compared with the average rate over the same months during 2015 to 2019 – 58 and 63 deaths per 100,000 population , respectively .
AIHW spokesperson Dr Fleur de Crespigny said lower rates of death were particularly apparent during the winter months , when there is usually a seasonal peak in deaths of people with dementia . Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that 257 ( 30 per cent ) of the 858 people who died due to COVID-19 in the first 10 months of 2020 had dementia .
But fewer people with dementia died due to influenza or pneumonia during the same months – 13 people in 2020 compared to an average of 187 people over the period 2015 to 2019 .
“ These results suggest that the measures in place to control the virus indirectly reduced dementia mortality rates in Australia during the first 10 months of 2020 , and contrasts with the experience of other developed countries like the United Kingdom where mortality among people with dementia – even when not due to COVID-19 – rose during the pandemic ,” de Crespigny said .
A September 2020 report by researchers at University College London found just over a quarter of all COVID-19 deaths between March and June that
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These results suggest that the measures in place to control the virus indirectly reduced dementia mortality rates .
year in England and Wales were in people living with dementia . Dementia was also the most common pre-existing condition among people whose deaths involved the virus . de Crespigny said that while the early evidence suggests that COVID-19 measures have assisted in reducing deaths due to other respiratory conditions , it was important to note the impacts of social isolation and loneliness on overall wellbeing , particularly among those living in residential aged care .
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia on people with dementia is not yet fully understood , she added .
“ Although they are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 and die from the virus than people without dementia , they often do not present symptoms commonly associated with COVID-19 .”
Almost all the people with dementia who died due to COVID-19 were
Victorian residents ( 95 per cent ). The remaining deaths were among NSW residents . But de Crespigny noted that the data doesn ’ t paint a complete picture of the impact of COVID-19 on people living with dementia , as an unknown number of people who died with dementia did not have the condition recorded on their death certificates .
“ With the pandemic still ongoing , people with dementia remain a particularly vulnerable group and it will be important to monitor broader impacts on their health and welfare as other data sources become available over time .” ■
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