India, Nov. 16 -- Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, accounted for over 17,500 deaths in 2024 and is now the nation's leading cause of death, overtaking ischaemic heart diseases, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Lauren Moran, ABS head of mortality statistics, said: 'The number of deaths caused by dementia has risen by 39 per cent over the last decade.'

"People are now more likely to live to an age where they have a higher risk of developing dementia," Moran said.

"This is especially true for women who have longer life expectancies. Today's data shows that 62.4 per cent of people who died from dementia were women.

"We've also seen that dementia has been the leading cause of death for ...