Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021;82(4):1609-1618.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-201400.

Causes of Death in People with Dementia from 2002 to 2015: A Nationwide Study

Lærke Taudorf  1 , Ane Nørgaard  1 , Sabrina Islamoska  2 , Thomas Munk Laursen  3 , Gunhild Waldemar  1   4
Affiliations

Causes of Death in People with Dementia from 2002 to 2015: A Nationwide Study

Lærke Taudorf et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2021.

Abstract

Background: Dementia is associated with increased mortality. However, it is not clear whether causes of death in people with dementia have changed over time.

Objective: To investigate if causes of death changed over time in people with dementia compared to the general elderly population.

Methods: We included longitudinal data from nationwide registries on all Danish residents aged≥65 years to 110 years who died between 2002 to 2015. We assessed the annual frequency of dementia-related deaths (defined as a dementia diagnosis registered as a cause of death) and of underlying causes of death in people registered with dementia compared to the general elderly population.

Results: From 2002 to 2015, 621,826 people died, of whom 103,785 were diagnosed with dementia. During this period, the percentage of dementia-related deaths increased from 10.1% to 15.2% in women, and from 6.3% to 9.5% in men in the general elderly population. From 2002 to 2015, dementia became the leading, registered underlying cause of death in people diagnosed with dementia. Simultaneously, a marked decline in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular deaths was observed in people with and without dementia.

Conclusion: This is the first study to investigate if the causes of death change over time in people diagnosed with dementia compared with the general elderly population. The increase in the registration of dementia as an underlying cause of death could reflect increasing awareness that dementia is fatal.

Keywords: Cause of death; death certificates; dementia; registries.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ disclosures available online (https://www.j-alz.com/manuscript-disclosures/20-1400r1).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Time trend of dementia registered as any cause of death, 2002–2015. Time trend of dementia registered as any cause of death of all deaths in women (A) and men (B) divided into five-year age groups.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Time trend of the distribution of dementia as cause of death in the general elderly population. Time trend of the distribution of dementia registered as contributing or underlying cause of death in women (A) and men (B) in the general elderly population.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Time trend of the distribution of dementia as cause of death in women and men diagnosed with dementia. Time trend of the distribution of dementia registered as contributing or underlying cause of death in women (A) and men (B) with diagnosed dementia.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Time trend of the distribution of registered underlying causes of death in women and men with and without diagnosed dementia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization, The top 10 causes of death, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death. Accessed on September 25, 2020
    1. Jamison DT, Gelband H, Horton S, Jha P, Laxminarayan R, Mock CN, Nugent R, eds. (2017) Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 9): Improving Health and Reducing Poverty, The World Bank. - PubMed
    1. Office for National Statistics. Deaths registered in England andWales: 2018. 2019:1–11. https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/deathsregisteredinenglandandwalesseriesd...
    1. Australian Institute of Health andWelfare (2019) Deaths in Australia [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
    1. Prince M, Wimo A, Guerchet M, Ali G, Wu Y, Prina M (2015) World Alzheimer Report 2015. The Global Impact of Dementia. Alzheimer’s Disease International, London.

Publication types