London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
St Pancras 1872
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
MORTALITY AT VARIOUS AGES. For the fifty-two weeks the deaths were—
| In 1872. | In 1971. | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 years of age | 1,291 | 1,295 |
| 0—5 „ | 1,986 | 2,154 |
| 5—60 „ | 1,851 | 2,093 |
| Above 60 ,, | 1,093 | 1,183 |
exclusive of deaths of parishioners in extra Parochial Institutions,
which were far more numerous in 1871 than in 1872.
The deaths of children under one year of age formed 16'4 per cent,
of the registered births.
MORTALITY FROM VARIOUS DISEASES. The annual rates of mortality from the undermentioned diseases in the year 1872, were as follows:—
| London. 1872. | St. Pancras. 1872. | St. Pancras. 1871. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Pox | 0.53 | 0.26 | 3.42 |
| Diarrhoea and Cholera | 1.19 | 1.05 | 1.06 |
| Continued Fevers | 0.40 | 0.35 | 0.50 |
| Scarlet Fevers | 0.27 | 0.31 | 0.43 |
| Diphtheria | 0.08 | 0.07 | 0.17 |
| Hooping Cough | 0.98 | 1.16 | 0.71 |
| Measles | 0.51 | 0.47 | 0.47 |
| Phthisis, Tabes, Atrophy Scrofulous Diseases | 3.43 | 4.38 | 4.48 |
| Bronchitis, Pneumonia, and Asthma | 3.57 | 3.56 | 4.06 |
These deaths from the seven principal zymotic diseases, viz., Small
Pox, Measles, Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, Hooping Cough, the Continued
Fevers, and Bowel Fluxes, formed 16.7 per cent. of the total
mortality, as compared with 26.l per cent. in the year 1871. In
the metropolis, as a whole, the corresponding per centage for 1872
was 17'9 per 1,000.
We are now in a position to state how the lessened mortality of
1872 came about. If to the actual rate of mortality during this year
we add the diminished rates of mortality from zymotic diseases,
tubercular diseases, and inflammatory affections of the lungs, as
compared with 1871, figures are obtained (24.89) which approximate
closely to those which express the annual rate of mortality during the
year 1871. Hence the favourable death-rate of 1872 was due,—
firstly, to the little prevalence of zymotic diseases; and, secondly, to
the small fatality from tubercular diseases and inflammatory lung
affections.
Tested by every method, the vital statistics of 1872 for St. Pancras
show the good effects of sanitary improvements and precautionary
sanitary measures: there was a lowered death-rate among persons of
all ages from infectious diseases, from diarrhœal complaints, from
phthisis, and from children under five years of age from all causes.