Suzanne Lazaroo
30 September 2025: New research led by the ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ has shed light on how long it takes to receive a dementia diagnosis, with differences noted according to different types of dementia, as well as by sex – a timeframe that could impact access to treatment and support.
Lead researcher from the University’s Centre for Ageing Research and Translation (CARAT) found that while most people with Alzheimer’s disease receive a diagnosis an average of three years after first reporting symptoms, for some other types of dementia, it can take an average of four years.
, a journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. Dr Ambikairajah collaborated with researchers from the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney, University of Oslo, and the National Centre for Healthy Ageing in Melbourne.
“Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. However, there are other types – such as behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) – which present with different symptoms, like behavioural changes,” he says.
“For men with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), it takes an additional two years to be diagnosed, when compared with women – so the entire process for a bvFTD diagnosis for a male patient takes an average of five years.
"These delays are particularly concerning because early diagnosis is crucial for accessing appropriate care, planning for the future, and potentially participating in clinical trials.
“For families dealing with behavioral changes characteristic of bvFTD, waiting over five years for answers can be devastating."
For the study, Dr Ambikairajah analysed 591 patients across multiple dementia types; his research is the first to use advanced Bayesian statistical methods, which allowed for the integration of previous findings to inform results.
Dr Ambikairajah says that this research is just the beginning, and that much more research is needed to understand the reasons behind the differences in diagnostic timelines.
“There are various factors – or combinations of factors – that could contribute to the delays, such as the different symptoms that people experience, the time it takes for them to recognise those symptoms and then see their doctors.
“And when it comes to the sex-specific differences for the bvFTD diagnostic timeline, it could also be that the behavioural changes seen are deemed as more pathological in women and more as just personality changes in men. But we really need more work to investigate this question, and tease apart all the factors contributing to the delays.”
Fellow CARAT researcher Associate Professor Nathan D’Cunha is hoping to address some of the questions around diagnostic timelines – and more broadly, the lived experiences of navigating these pathways. The first national is a collaboration led by the University's Health Research Institute (HRI), along with CARAT and the Australian Government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
“The survey aims to gather information on the experiences of people who have been diagnosed with dementia and the experiences of family and friends providing care and support to someone living with dementia in the community, including experiences and interactions with health, aged care, and other service or support providers,” Dr D’Cunha said.
“The information gathered will provide the Government with a better understanding of the needs of people living with dementia, as well as carers – and shed light on whether those needs are being met. And it will help to prioritise work under the .”
Read A Bayesian analysis of diagnostic timelines across Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and other neurodegenerative conditions .
For more information on the Living with Dementia Survey, send an email to dementiasurvey@canberra.edu.au or call 1800 964 333..
To take part, .