Dementia second cause of death in Australia

Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows dementia, the condition that affects a person's thinking, their behaviour and their ability to perform everyday tasks, was the country's second leading cause of death in 2017.

Dementia is the leading cause of death in Australian women Source: AAP

That has increased almost 70 per cent in a decade — in 2008 just over 8,000 Australians were recorded as having died of dementia.

Globally around 50 million people are currently living with dementia.