From: drarwingnuttephd@gmail.com   
      
   29 October 2014 Last updated at 09:22 ET   
      
   Dementia is leading cause of death for women   
   By James Gallagher   
   Health editor, BBC News website   
      
      
   It is the second consecutive year that dementia has been recorded as the   
   leading cause of death for women   
      
      
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   Dementia is the leading cause of death for women in England and Wales,   
   official figures show.   
      
   The disease now kills more than three times as many women as breast cancer and   
   thousands more than either heart attacks or stroke.   
      
   Analysts say the rising numbers may be because doctors are becoming more aware   
   of the disease and recording it on death certificates more frequently.   
      
   Coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death in men.   
      
   For males, dementia is the third most common cause of death.   
      
   Shorter lives   
   The gradual wasting away of the brain in dementia cuts lives short.   
      
   The condition can be recorded as the sole cause of death, but is frequently   
   found as an underlying condition. Many people with dementia ultimately die   
   from pneumonia.   
      
   The data, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed more   
   than half a million people died in England and Wales in 2013.   
      
   Women		Men   
   Cause of death	Number of deaths	Rank	Causes of death	Number of deaths   
   Dementia and Alzheimer's   
   31,850   
   1   
   Coronary heart disease   
   37,797   
   Coronary heart disease   
   26,075   
   2   
   Lung cancer   
   16,818   
   Stroke   
   20,706   
   3   
   Dementia and Alzheimer's   
   15,262   
   Flu and pneumonia   
   15,361   
   4   
   Chronic lower respiratory diseases   
   15,021   
   Chronic lower respiratory diseases   
   14,927   
   5   
   Stroke   
   14,058   
   Lung cancer   
   13,619   
   6   
   Flu and pneumonia   
   11,426   
   Breast cancer   
   10,144   
   7   
   Prostate cancer   
   9,726   
   Colon cancer   
   6,569   
   8   
   Colon cancer   
   7,669   
   Urinary infections   
   5,457   
   9   
   Lymphatic cancers   
   6,311   
   Heart failure   
   5,012   
   10   
   Liver disease   
   4,661   
   Total: 261,205   
   Total: 245,585   
   Cancer is the leading killer when all subtypes of cancer are combined across   
   both genders. Nearly one in three deaths last year was from some form of   
   cancer.   
      
   The latest data confirms a dramatic shift in the causes of death in the past   
   decade.   
      
   Between 2003 and 2013 the percentage of deaths from coronary heart disease,   
   which includes heart attacks, fell to 16% of male deaths from 22%. In women   
   the figure fell to 10% from 15%.   
      
   Improved care means people are more likely to survive heart attacks and more   
   people take statins to prevent them in the first place.   
      
   line   
   What is dementia?   
   Elderly couple with dementia (posed by models)   
   Dementia now accounts for 12% of female deaths   
   It is an umbrella term that describes about 100 diseases in which brain cells   
   die on a huge scale.   
   All damage memory, language, mental agility, understanding and judgement.   
   Alzheimer's disease is the most common form, affecting 62% of those living   
   with dementia.   
   It gets worse with time and eventually people are left completely dependent on   
   carers.   
   It is incurable.   
   line   
   Meanwhile, dementia rose to 6% of male deaths from 2% and to 12% of female   
   deaths from 5%.   
      
   The latest data is the second consecutive year that dementia has been recorded   
   as the leading cause of death for women.   
      
   The ONS report said: "Some of the rise over the last few decades may also be   
   attributable to a better understanding of dementia.   
      
   "This means that doctors may be more likely to record dementia as the   
   underlying cause of death."   
      
   Continue reading the main story   
   "   
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   The figures highlight dementia as a huge problem that we cannot shy away from   
   any longer"   
      
   Hilary Evans   
   Alzheimer's Research UK   
   Hilary Evans, the director of external affairs at the charity Alzheimer's   
   Research UK, said: "The figures highlight dementia as a huge problem that we   
   cannot shy away from any longer.   
      
   "Encouragingly, the statistics reveal that other health conditions, such as   
   heart disease, are beginning to be tamed and this has come about due to   
   improved research into treatment, prevention and better public health.   
      
   "We must now turn our attentions to dementia - our greatest health challenge -   
   and invest in research that will drive better prevention and treatment of the   
   condition."   
      
   Gavin Terry, from the Alzheimer's Society, said: "Dementia is one of the   
   biggest health and social care challenges the UK faces.   
      
   "For too long dementia has been wrongly seen by many clinicians as a natural   
   part of ageing and, as such, have failed to record it as a cause of death."   
      
   Prof Peter Weissberg, the medical director of the British Heart Foundation,   
   said coronary heart disease "continues to blight the lives of thousands of   
   people and families".   
      
   "We've made great progress over the last 50 years but we still need to fund   
   much more research to stop people dying needlessly, and to help the increasing   
   number of people living with heart disease."   
      
   More on This Story   
   Related Stories   
      
   G8 pledges to beat dementia scourge 11 DECEMBER 2013, HEALTH   
   Uneven dementia care 'disgraceful' 15 JANUARY 2013, HEALTH   
   'Major step' towards Alzheimer's test 07 JULY 2014, HEALTH   
      
      
   http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29815518   
      
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