Dementia Is the Leading Cause of Death for Australian Women.

*Dementia Is the Leading Cause of Death for Australian Women. Why Connection Matters More Than Ever

**She Remembered the Flowers

This week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed what many in aged care and health advocacy have known for some time, and what surprisingly few Australians realise.

**Dementia is now Australia’s leading cause of death.

**Not heart disease. Not cancer. Dementia.

*For Australian women, it has held that position since 2016. The latest figures show that dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, was responsible for more than 17,500 deaths in Australia during 2024, with women accounting for more than 62 per cent of those deaths.

Yet research from Jean Hailes for Women’s Health found that only one in six Australian women knew dementia was their leading cause of death. Less than half were aware that lifestyle factors can play an important role in reducing dementia risk.

This is more than a health statistic.

It is a quiet reality unfolding in family homes, retirement villages, and aged care communities across Australia. Almost every family will be touched by dementia in some way, whether through a parent, partner, friend, or neighbour.

**Why Does Dementia Affect Women More?

Women generally live longer than men, which increases the likelihood of developing dementia. But longevity doesn’t tell the whole story.

Researchers continue to explore the complex relationship between hormonal changes, caregiving stress, and neurological vulnerability. What we do know is that women carry a disproportionate share of dementia’s impact, both as those living with the condition and as the family members caring for loved ones.

It is estimated that around 100,000 Australians provide unpaid care for someone living with dementia, with women making up the majority of these carers.

The emotional, physical, and financial impact of that care is significant, yet often goes unseen.

**What Medicine Can’t Always Offer While research continues to advance, there is currently no cure for dementia.

Some treatments may help slow progression for certain people, but they cannot restore memories that have already faded or reverse the condition.

For many people living with dementia, particularly in the middle and later stages, what becomes most important is not cure, but connection.

*Connection to memories.

*Connection to identity.

*Connection to the people they love.

This is where something quietly powerful enters the picture.

**When Words Slip Away, Colour Remains

For decades, art therapists, carers, and families have observed something remarkable.

Even when language becomes difficult, creativity often remains.

Research increasingly supports these observations. Studies have found that creative activities can improve communication, support cognitive function, encourage emotional expression, and enhance quality of life for people living with dementia.

A 2025 randomised controlled trial published in Scientific Reports found that art-based interventions reduced behavioural symptoms and improved wellbeing with minimal side effects.

What this research points to is simple but important:

Creative engagement is not a luxury.

It is a meaningful form of care.

Art can reach parts of the brain that language cannot always access. A person who struggles to recall a name may still respond to colour, texture, imagery, and familiar themes. A paintbrush can sometimes open a door that conversation alone cannot.

**The Importance of Shared Experiences

One of the greatest challenges for families supporting someone with dementia is knowing how to spend meaningful time together.

Many carers describe feeling uncertain about what activities to do. They want something engaging, dignified, and enjoyable, not something that feels childish or patronising.

Creative activities can provide a different kind of interaction. The focus shifts away from what someone can no longer do and towards what they can still experience and enjoy.

A painting session becomes an opportunity to sit together, share stories, spark memories, and enjoy a moment of calm.

The artwork itself is often secondary. The connection is what matters most.

**A Perspective from Artful Connections At Artful Connections, our founder and qualified art therapist, Debra Shapiro, has seen firsthand how creative activities can spark conversation, unlock memories, and create moments of genuine connection.

Sometimes a familiar colour reminds someone of a childhood garden. Sometimes a painted beach scene triggers memories of family holidays. Sometimes the greatest benefit isn’t the finished artwork at all, it’s the interaction that happens while creating it.

This belief sits at the heart of every Artful Connections painting kit.

Designed specifically for older Australians, our therapist-guided creative wellbeing kits combine familiar themes, gentle creative activities, and meaningful conversation prompts that help people connect with themselves and with those around them.

They won’t reverse a diagnosis.

No art activity can do that.

But they can offer something real: a moment of calm, a sense of achievement, a shared memory, or simply an hour spent together in a meaningful way.

**The Conversation We Need to Have

If this week’s dementia statistics tell us anything, it is that dementia is no longer a distant health issue affecting only a small number of families.

It is here.

It is growing.

And it is touching the lives of more Australians every year. Funding research matters. Supporting carers matters. Building dementia-friendly communities’ matters.

But so do the small moments. The conversations. The shared experiences.

The simple act of sitting beside someone and creating something together.

Because while dementia may affect memory, it does not remove the human need for connection.

And sometimes, connection itself can be one of the most powerful forms of care.

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Artful Connections creates therapist-designed creative wellbeing kits for older Australians, families, carers, and aged care communities. Our mission is simple: to help people connect, create, and share meaningful moments together.