Dementia killing more Scots women

Dementia and Alzheimer’s are now the leading cause of death among Scottish women it has emerged.

The condition accounted for 4,384 female deaths north of the Border in 2017, a rise of 631 on the previous year, according to new figures published by National Records of Scotland.

This is about the double the number of male deaths (2,165) caused by the condition, although male deaths jumped by more then 300.

The difference is because women tend to live longer than men, leaving them with a greater chance of developing the degenerative condition.

Heart disease remains the biggest killer of males, with 4,034 fatalities last year, compared with 2,693 female deaths.

Cancers are broken down into individual types in the statistics, in line with World Health Organisation guidelines, but would account for most Scots deaths in total.

It is the first time that NRS has broken down the split in causes of death between the sexes, reavealing Alzheimer’s 0 Brian Sloan: impact of dementia is profound

and dementia has been the top killer of women since 2013.

Brian Sloan, chief executive of Age Scotland, said yesterday that the impact dementia has on women is “profound.”

“The critical challenge for the Scottish Government is how to better prevent dementia and to improve the quality of life of those living with it and their carers.”

Lindsay Kinnaird, research manager from Alzheimer Scotland, said: “This increase in the number of deaths attributed to dementia highlights the important role of diagnosis to ensure that people with dementia receive coordinated care.”