Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that dementia and Alzheimer’s disease was again the leading cause of death in 2022, accounting for 11.4% of deaths in England and Wales. In this category, 65,967 deaths were registered, compared with 61,250 (10.4%) in 2021, when it was also the leading cause of death.
“Our most recent survey showed that 2 in 10 people are unaware that dementia is even a cause of death, yet last year it claimed nearly 66,000 lives in England and Wales alone,” said Samantha Benham-Hermetz, policy and public affairs director at Alzheimer’s Research UK. “As the impact of the pandemic recedes, we must learn from the lessons of Covid-19 and speed up progress in finding new ways to treat, diagnose and prevent dementia.”