Deaths from coronary heart disease in Australia have fallen to their lowest rate in almost 50 years, with dementia overtaking it as the nation's leading cause of death.
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Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Friday shows coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death for men and for people living in outer regional and remote areas.
The number people dying from the disease has been declining steadily for decades and reached the lowest rate since 1968, but still claimed more than 16,000 lives in the past year.
The data suggests the mortality rate for coronary heart disease has decreased by 87 per cent over the 50 years, while the rate of dementia increased by more than 840 per cent.
More than 17,000 people died from dementia including Alzheimer's disease in 2024, with 62 per cent of dementia-related deaths being women.
Dementia has been the leading cause of death among women since 2016.
Improved healthcare and medical interventions for heart diseases were some factors behind the decrease, along with treatment of risk factors such as hypertension and high cholesterol, the bureau's head of mortality statistics Lauren Moran told reporters.
Coronary heart disease involves the coronary arteries, which supply the heart with blood, becoming narrowed by a build-up of plaque, reducing flow to the heart muscle.
Ms Moran said the increase of dementia deaths was likely due to people living longer, which raises the chances of developing dementia towards the end of their lives.
"This is especially true for women who have longer life expectancies," Ms Moran said.
Dementia Australia chief executive Tanya Buchanan said dementia accounted for 9.4 per cent of all deaths and the data demonstrates the need to invest in public health.
"There are currently an estimated 433,300 Australians living with dementia and without significant intervention, this number is expected to increase to more than one million by 2065," Professor Buchanan said.
Suicide-related deaths increased by one per cent and has become the leading cause of premature death, with the median age of 46 years.
More than 3300 people died by suicide and men accounted for over three quarters of those deaths.
The Northern Territory recorded the highest suicide rate followed by Queensland and Tasmania, the data shows.
Suicide Prevention Australia chief executive Nieves Murray described the figures are devastating and stubbornly high.
"We lost an additional 43 lives to suicide in 2024 compared to the previous year. That's more than a classroom of students, a busload of people, or an entire family every month," he said.
Drug and alcohol-induced deaths also increased over the past year, with acute toxicity the main cause of drug-induced deaths.
Long term complications of alcohol use, such as liver cirrhosis, was the main cause of alcohol-induced deaths, which has increased over the past five years.
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Australian Associated Press
