Dementia deaths soar by two-thirds in only three years
But cancer and heart fatalities are falling

Scottish Daily Mail
9 Mar 2017
By Rachel Watson Deputy Scottish Political Editor

SCOTLAND is winning the fight against the Big Three killers, heart disease, cancer and stroke – but the number of people dying from Alzheimer’s has soared by two-thirds in three years.
Official figures have revealed a dramatic drop in deaths caused by the Big Three since 2013.
But there was a 64 per cent increase in Alzheimer’s fatalities in the three years to 2016.
The annual figures released by the Scottish Government yesterday recorded births, deaths and marriages last year. They showed the number of births dropped to a ten-year low of 54,488 – 612 less than in 2015.
The number of deaths dropped by 851 to 56,728.
A cause-of-death breakdown revealed 6,651 people died of heart disease – a drop of 8 per cent from 7,239 in 2013. The number killed by stroke fell from 4,446 to 4,143.
There was also a 1 per cent drop in cancer deaths, from 16,379 to 16,239.
But the number of people killed by Alzheimer’s rose from 1,196 to 1,963.
An Alzheimer Scotland spokesman said: ‘Dementia is the biggest health and social care challenge faced by society today.
‘There are 90,000 people living with dementia in Scotland and the number is on the rise.
‘We need much more research into the causes of dementia, treatments and supports that allow people to live well with dementia, as well as prevention and cure.
‘Alzheimer Scotland is passionate that nobody should face dementia alone and is working across communities every day to help raise vital funds to support our 24-hour Freepsaid: hone National Dementia Helpline, dementia advisers, resource centres across
Scotland and the Dementia Research Centre at Edinburgh University.’ Yesterday’s figures also revealed an increase in deaths caused by diabetes, from 708 to 859. There were 2,116 accidental deaths, up from 1,892.
There was a rise in those dying from falls, up from 787 to 863, and poison deaths climbed from 663 to 784.
There was also an increase in transport-related deaths, from 191 to 204.
Dr Emma Smith, Cancer Research UK’s science information manager, ‘More people are surviving cancer than before, thanks to improvements in the ways cancers are diagnosed and treated.
‘Over the last 40 years, survival has doubled and keeping that momentum is vital to ensure we can bring the benefits of research to patients faster.
‘But there’s much more to be done to help more people survive cancer. This is particularly true for cancers where there’s been little improvement in survival, such as oesophageal, pancreatic and lung cancers and brain tumours.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Dementia is more common as people are living longer and a large proportion of very elderly people are at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
‘We will publish a third National Dementia Strategy shortly, which will include a major focus on palliative and end-of-life care for people with dementia.
‘Those with a new diagnosis of dementia are entitled to a year’s worth of post-diagnostic support, coordinated by named and appropriately trained staff.
‘For people with Alzheimer’s, this includes support to adjust to and understand this particular type of dementia, plan early for future care options and connect better to the range of clinical and non-clinical dementia services and community support.â
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‘Biggest challenge faced by society’


https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20170309/281767039020741

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