Just 60% of UK adults recognise that dementia is a cause of death, according to new nationwide polling commissioned by Alzheimer's Research UK. That gap in understanding is striking given that dementia is the biggest killer in the UK.
The charity points out that dementia is not a single illness but a condition caused by diseases that damage the brain, the most common being Alzheimer's disease. As those diseases advance, they harm the parts of the brain that control vital functions such as swallowing and breathing. Death can follow in several ways, including through pneumonia, heart problems and serious infections.
Why does this matter beyond the numbers? Families who do not understand that dementia is terminal may be caught off guard by decisions about end-of-life care, and public support for research funding tends to track how seriously people take a disease. Alzheimer's Research UK says it commissioned the poll specifically to map public attitudes and work out what stands in the way of changing them.
Samantha Benham-Hermetz, the charity's Executive Director of Policy and Communications, commented on the findings, which the organisation is using to frame its case that awareness of dementia's true toll still lags well behind its impact.