London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Finsbury 1914
Annual report on the public health of Finsbury for the year 1914
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71
Most of the deaths occur between 50 and 70 years; between
40 and 50 the females exceed the males, between 50 and 60 the
sexes are very nearly equal; after 60 the males are more
numerous.
The parts affected are set out below:—
| Sites of the Disease. | 1914. | 1913. | 1912. | 1911. | 1901-10. | Totals. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Face, Tongue and Jaw | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 75 | 99 |
| Throat, Neck and Gullet | 9 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 77 | 118 |
| Stomach | 13 | 12 | 14 | 5 | 107 | 151 |
| Intestines | 25 | 17 | 11 | 16 | 154 | 223 |
| Liver | 7 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 92 | 128 |
| Pancreas | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 26 |
| Breast | 8 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 67 | 107 |
| Womb | 15 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 116 | 169 |
| Various | 17 | 18 | 3 | 10 | 98 | 146 |
| Totals | 103 | 93 | 86 | 81 | 804 | 1,167 |
The sites of the disease differ in the two sexes. In man they
are chiefly those parts concerned with feeding and the digestion
of food, the mouth, tongue, stomach, liver and intestines; in
woman they are chiefly those parts concerned with child-bearing
and reproduction, the womb and the breast.
ALCOHOLISM.
Alcoholism and Cirrhosis of the Liver caused 45 deaths in
1914. Cirrhosis of the Liver is the euphemism under which, in
deference to the susceptibilities of relatives and friends, alcoholism
is masked on death certificates. Latterly, the word "Hepatitis"
has been used by medical men, presumably, for the same purpose.
It is quite uncommon to find alcoholism entered as a cause of
death, except in the case of those who are friendless, homeless,
unknown, destitute, or who die in the workhouse or workhouse
infirmary.