Dementia rate in West Australian’s Indigenous population world’s worst

Dementia rate in WA’s Indigenous population world’s worst

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3rd November 2008, 6:00 WST

Indigenous West Australians have the highest rates of dementia in the world and are five times more likely to suffer from the debilitating mental condition than their non-Indigenous neighbours, new research finds.

The Western Australian Centre for Health and Ageing looked at 363 participants from five communities and one town in the Kimberley and found that 12.4 per cent of Indigenous people over the age of 45 suffered from dementia.

This compares to the current rate of dementia Australia-wide for people over the age of 45 years, of just 2.4 per cent.

Director of the centre and University of Western Australia Professor Leon Flicker said the figures were the highest found for any population in the world.

He said it was hoped the findings would prompt further studies into appropriate services and care.

“Using a new culturally-appropriate test our team has developed, we’ve discovered the prevalence of dementia among Indigenous people aged over 45 living in the Kimberley is very high,” Professor Flicker said.

“With this understanding, we are now taking our work to the next level and looking into developing health services for people with dementia in remote Indigenous communities, and how best these services can be provided to improve the outlook for older Indigenous Australians.

“Age is the major risk factor for dementia, but the overall health risks the Indigenous population faces may also be contributing, because the same risk factors for cardiovascular disease are linked to dementia.”

The results are due to be published in the prestigious journal ‘Neurology’ tomorrow.

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