As dementia becomes our leading cause of death, is Australia neglecting brain health?
Leading public health experts have come together today to warn that deteriorating brain health is a rapidly growing public health threat in Australia, highlighting the need for preventive action.
The call to action coincides with a letter published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health referencing recent data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Australian Bureau of Statistics showing dementia has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in Australia.
Letter co-author, Professor Tanya Buchanan, CEO, Dementia Australia, says the latest statistics are a wakeup call.
"Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia," Professor Buchanan said. "Dementia is not an inevitable disease of old age.
"While we cannot change getting older, genetics or family history, there are things we can do to reduce our risk of dementia. We need all Australians to know this and understand what actions they can take across their life to maintain the health of their brain.
"In 2026 there are an estimated 446,500 Australians living with dementia. Without a significant intervention, this number is expected to increase to more than one million by 2065.
"Dementia is one of the most feared diseases in Australia, but it is also one of the most misunderstood. A 2024 Dementia Australia survey found that more than a quarter of Australians incorrectly believe there is nothing they can do to reduce the risk of dementia, but most want to know how they can protect their brain health.
"In Australia, 43% of dementia burden is attributable to six modifiable risk factors that we want all Australians to be aware of—tobacco use, overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure in midlife, high blood plasma glucose and impaired kidney function."
The letter's authors say that while prevention of dementia aligns well with the prevention of other major chronic diseases, dementia has been largely absent from prevention and public health conversations, including Australia's National Preventive Health Strategy.
"There are clear things that we can do to reduce the number of Australians diagnosed with dementia in the future, such as promoting prevention and addressing risk factors from childhood right through to older age. We also need a focus on early detection and intervention," Professor Buchanan said.
Dementia Australia is calling for the Federal Government to fund a national brain health campaign with a focus on disadvantaged populations. They are also calling for brain health to become a core component of all preventive health strategies across the country.
Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin, CEO, Public Health Association of Australia (publishers of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health) says Australia needs to dramatically reshape the way it thinks about dementia, placing it on the public health agenda.
"Right now we are seeing the burden of dementia growing, placing increasing pressure on Australia's health care system.
"Australians have come to understand that many cases of cancer and heart disease are preventable. We now need a similar shift in our thinking on dementia to focus more on prevention.
"We can prevent roughly 2 in 5 dementia cases in Australia. Most of the things that help our physical health will also reduce risk of dementia. "This will be news to millions of Australians and should be a wake-up call to all governments. It is time we prioritized prevention and funded it properly.
"There is currently no cure for dementia, so prevention and early intervention are the best options we have."
More information:
Emilie Awbery et al, New data showing dementia is Australia's leading cause of death means we need to make brain health a national priority, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (2026). DOI:10.1016/j.anzjph.2026.100318 www.sciencedirect.com/science/ … ii/S1326020026000075
Provided by University of Wollongong
