About 2500 Indigenous people are living with diagnosed dementia across Australia, and that number is projected to be 4.5 to 5.5 times higher by 2051, according to the ARC Centre for Excellence in Population Ageing Research.
While rates of dementia in remote communities are among the highest in the world, Indigenous people living in urban and regional areas aged 60 and over also experience the condition at a three times higher rate than the broader population.
First Nations people were also more likely to show signs of the condition earlier, Dementia Training Australia executive director Isabelle Meyer said.
"The really big risk factors are around things like diabetes, smoking, alcohol," she told AAP.
"There's also a significant, growing body of evidence that trauma is a major risk factor for developing dementia."
Particularly in remote communities, people were living with signs of dementia, but faced barriers to getting a diagnosis, Dr Meyer said.
"There's increased anxiety and fear about even seeking that in the first place because it often means travelling thousands of kilometres off Country to get those diagnostic tests done," she said.
"For a lot of people, they don't want to take the risk that they might never return to Country."
To properly support Indigenous people living with dementia, Dr Meyer said communities and family members needed access to resources to help increase their awareness of the condition, and health professionals needed culturally appropriate training.
Dr Meyer said Dementia Training Australia provided this type of training for aged care facilities and to communities.
She said there also needed to be increased efforts to encourage young people into careers in health, and for those living with dementia to be supported to live at home, in their own community.
"The quality of life we can give those people (at home), the value and quality we can give those communities, is incredible," Dr Meyer said.
"Let's not waste those lives and that potential and send people thousands of kilometres away to go to a memory clinic - that's not a reasonable thing."
With Stolen Generations survivors more likely to develop dementia because of their experiences of trauma, Dr Meyer said communication and how health workers engaged with these people was also incredibly important.
She said health professionals needed to improve communication with patients, while avoiding increasing trauma and confusion.
"One of the things we do really badly in the health system, which has an enormous impact when you're dealing with someone with dementia, is we don't really get to know them," she said.
"They're not just already traumatised, we're there with a nail gun, nailing trauma onto their forehead every time they see a figure of authority in the health system."
13YARN 13 92 76
Lifeline 13 11 14
15°C