Research shows increased registration of dementia as underlying cause of death

It is well known that dementia is associated with increased mortality. New scientific research shows how, in recent years, more and more deaths are recorded with dementia as the underlying cause of death. The growing rate of dementia-related deaths may be linked to increased awareness of dementia as a fatal disease.

Over the past 20 years, an increasing number of deaths have been recorded with dementia as the underlying cause of death. This is the main finding of a new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease from the Danish Dementia Research Center (DDRC), which examined how the causes of death have changed over time in people with diagnosed dementia compared to to the general elderly population.

It calls for more attention to the fact that dementia in its essence is a fatal disease, said Professor DDRC Chairman Gunhild Waldemar.

“We believe that this increase in the registration of dementia as a cause of death may reflect a positive change in rates of diagnosis and in the perception of dementia not only as a disease that contributes to mortality but as a disease that is in fact fatal “.

She adds that even though there is an increase in enrollments, dementia is still likely underreported as a cause of death in people with dementia disorder.

Dementia as the leading cause of death

The new population-based study is the first to study time trends in the causes of death in people with dementia. The data was based on data from the National Register of the entire Danish population aged 65 and over who died between 2002 and 2015.

During the study period, 62,826 people died, of which 10,378 were diagnosed with dementia before their death, and dementia became the leading cause of death among those diagnosed with dementia. In the latter part of the period, dementia appeared more frequently as an “underlying cause” than as a “contributing cause” on death certificates.