Cases of dementia are increasing in Switzerland and the disease is also causing more deaths, the official Swissinfo news website reported Tuesday.

In 1996, 2,204 people in Switzerland died of dementia, the progressive decline in cognitive function caused by damage or disease in the brain. By 2006 the number had risen to 3,606, largely due to people living longer.

The figures released by the Federal Statistics Office also showed that circulatory diseases and cancer remain the most common causes of death in the country.

Accidents and other violent deaths as well as respiratory diseases are also responsible for a large number of deaths.

Every year around 60,000 people die in Switzerland. For several years changing demographics have meant the number of women dying has been rising while the number of men dying has been going down, according to the report.