From: drarwingnuttephd@gmail.com   
      
   Record female dementia deaths total   
      
      
   Official figures show dementia caused a record proportion of deaths among   
   women in England and Wales last year   
   29 OCTOBER 2014   
      
   Dementia caused a record proportion of deaths among women in England and Wales   
   last year, official figures show.   
      
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   The condition was the underlying cause of one in eight (12.2%) of all the   
   female deaths recorded in 2013, according to Office for National Statistics   
   (ONS) data.   
      
   The share of deaths from dementia and Alzheimer's jumped by 7.5 percentage   
   points for women over the decade from 2003.   
      
   Dementia and related conditions - which were established as the leading cause   
   of female fatalities for the first time in 2012 - was cited in a total of   
   41,112 deaths among both sexes last year.   
      
   It was the third most common cause of men dying, accounting for 6.2% of deaths.   
      
   The ONS said the trend was partly a result of people living longer.   
      
   It said: "Deaths from dementia and Alzheimer's disease are increasing as   
   people live longer, with women living longer than men. 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."   
      
   Hilary Evans, director of external affairs for 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."   
      
   The most common cause of death for men was ischaemic heart disease, accounting   
   for 15.4% of the total male deaths.   
      
   Cancers were the broad disease group for which the largest percentage of   
   deaths were registered in 2013, accounting for almost a third (29%) of all   
   deaths.   
      
   Professor Peter Johnson, Cancer Research UK's chief clinician, said: "Cancer   
   remains a huge challenge.   
      
   "Although we have made great progress against it, it's still the highest cause   
   of deaths in England and Wales, accounting for more than one in four of all   
   deaths in 2013. This is partly because people in the UK are living longer.   
      
   "Cancer is more common in older people because there is more time for faults   
   in cells to develop - these faults trigger the disease."   
      
   He said research has helped double survival rates among cancer patients in the   
   last four decades, adding: " This trend is continuing for most types of cancer   
   - our aim is to see three quarters of people surviving the disease within the   
   next 20 years."   
      
   However, Prof Johnson warned there is "still so much to do".   
      
   "Earlier diagnosis, access to the right treatment at the right time, and   
   preventing the disease through lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking all   
   play a role in beating cancer," he said.   
      
   The ONS figures showed there were a total of 506,790 deaths registered in   
   England and Wales in 2013, a rise of 1.5% compared with the previous year.   
      
   But age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) - the proportion of the   
   population dying - fell. There were 11,583 deaths per million population for   
   males and 8,526 deaths per million population for females.   
      
   Since 2003, ASMRs have fallen by 22% for men and 19% for women, the ONS said.   
      
   Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation,   
   said: "These figures show that coronary heart disease is still the single   
   biggest killer and 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.   
      
   "The UK has committed to reducing premature deaths from cardiovascular disease   
   by a quarter by 2025 and it will only meet this target if the Government and   
   health service make health prevention a priority."   
      
      
   http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/record-   
   emale-dementia-deaths-total-30702743.html   
      
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