For the third consecutive year, Dementia is the second most common cause of death in women in Spain, and the fourth if we count the total number of deaths: in 2018 it caused the death of 14,485 women and 7,144 men. This is detailed by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in the 2018 Death Report, which also detects a dementia resurgence of more than 3.3% in women and 2.4% in men compared to the previous year.

The report points out that Dementia is also the fifth most common multiple cause of death; That is, it is not the disease that starts the chain of pathological events that lead to death, but it does contribute to or is associated with death.

Alzheimer's deaths

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia and causes 75% of the cases, but not the only one, since it can also be caused by cerebral vascular alterations, metabolic alterations or other diseases.

INE statistics also record the number of people who died from Alzheimer's disease in 2018: 10,475 women and 4,454 men, a figure similar to that of the previous year and higher than that of diseases such as hypertension, colon cancer, diabetes or breast and prostate cancer. However, to understand the magnitude of Alzheimer's disease, it should be noted that between 30 and 40% of cases could be undiagnosed, as estimated by the Spanish Society of Neurology.

In summary, according to the INE, 427,721 people died in Spain in 2018. In order, the most frequent causes of death were ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, bronchial and lung cancer, dementia, heart failure and Alzheimer's disease. In this link You can consult the evolution of deaths due to dementia and Alzheimer's in Spain over the last 18 years.