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
London County Council 1893
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Table H. Comparison of mortality at certain age periods in London 1881-90 with mortality in England and Wales 1881-90.
| Age period. | London 1881-90. | England and Wales 1881-90. | London mortality 1881-90. (England and Wales mortality taken as 1,000.) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | Males. | Females. | Males. | Females. | |
| 0— | .07309 | .06326 | .06159 | .05195 | 1,187 | 1,218 |
| 5— | .00593 | .00582 | .00535 | .00527 | 1,108 | 1,104 |
| 10— | .00292 | .00289 | .00296 | .00311 | 986 | 929 |
| 15— | .00405 | .00358 | .00433 | .00442 | 935 | 810 |
| 20— | .00544 | .00440 | .00573 | .00554 | 949 | 794 |
| 25— | .00865 | .00682 | .00778 | .00741 | 1,112 | 920 |
| 35— | .01496 | .01142 | .01241 | .01061 | 1,205 | 1,076 |
| 45— | .02387 | .01723 | .01936 | .01509 | 1,233 | 1,142 |
| 55— | .04133 | .03077 | .03469 | .02845 | 1,191 | 1,082 |
| 65— | .07797 | .06338 | .07039 | .06036 | 1,108 | 1,050 |
| 75— | .15593 | .13428 | .14664 | .13062 | 1,063 | 1,028 |
| 85— | .29763 | .26477 | .30581 | .27082 | 973 | 978 |
Extended life tables, relating to the period 1881-90 have, however, been published by the
medical officers of Brighton, Manchester and Glasgow, and these tables form a more satisfactory basis
of comparison than the English life table 1871-80, although the reservations as to differences in method
(see footnote, § page 7) should here be borne in mind.
Table I. Expectation of life (Ex ) at various ages and for each sex in London, Brighton, Manchester and Glasgow, 1881-90.
| Age. X. | Males. E X | Females. E X | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London. | Brighton. | Manchester. | Glasgow. | London. | Brighton. | Manchester. | Glasgow. | |
| 0 | 40.66 | 43.59 | 34.71 | 35.18 | 44.91 | 49.00 | 38.44 | 37.70 |
| 5 | 50.77 | 52.87 | 45.59 | 46.97 | 54.42 | 56.92 | 48.06 | 48.27 |
| 10 | 47.22 | 49.12 | 42.75 | 44.32 | 50.95 | 53.15 | 45.43 | 45.44 |
| 15 | 42.88 | 44.67 | 38.78 | 40.51 | 46.65 | 49.07 | 41.50 | 41.59 |
| 20 | 38.70 | 40.55 | 34.62 | 36.90 | 42.45 | 44.76 | 37.33 | 38.00 |
| 25 | 34.70 | 36.51 | 30.69 | 33.29 | 38.34 | 40.48 | 33.38 | 34.60 |
| 35 | 27.39 | 29.02 | 23.76 | 26.06 | 30.69 | 32.48 | 26.30 | 28.06 |
| 45 | 21.00 | 22.36 | 17.80 | 19.54 | 23.80 | 25.07 | 19.79 | 21.61 |
| 55 | 15.31 | 16.48 | 12.49 | 13.99 | 17.34 | 18.48 | 13.91 | 15.60 |
| 65 | 10.59 | 10.96 | 8.15 | 9.38 | 11.78 | 12.19 | 9.11 | 10.69 |
Table I shows the expectation of life (Ex) at various ages and for each sex in the towns just
mentioned. It is interesting to note that at each age and for each sex the expectation of life in London
exceeds that in Manchester and Glasgow, but is less than that of Brighton. From this point of view
therefore, London occupies an intermediate position between Brighton, a fashionable health resort, on
the one hand, and Manchester and Glasgow, important industrial centres, on the other.
In the absence of more recent material for the comparison of the vital conditions of London
with those of "healthy districts," comparison may be made between the London life table of 1881—90
and Dr. Farr's Healthy District life table, based on the mortality of certain English districts in the
five years 1849-53. the extent to which London conditions of the present time fall short of those
of healthy districts some forty years ago can then be seen. In Table J, which gives the survivors
at several ages out of a million births, the most noticeable feature is the excessive mortality in London
under 5 years of age. Whereas, according to this standard, 1,000,000 males should be reduced in these
5 years by 186,898, and 1,000,000 females by 164,440, in London 1,000,000 males are reduced by
277,001 and 1,000,000 females by 249,608, the excess of mortality in each case being almost exactly
50 per cent. At subsequent ages the London figures are more favourable, but this, it must be
presumed, is in great measure due to the constant influx of healthy persons who directly lessen the
London death rates, and many of whom return to their homes in the country if their health becomes
impaired. From another point of view, the figures show that for males the chance of surviving to age
5 in London is only equal to the chance of surviving to age 25 in the healthy districts, and that for
females the chance of surviving to age 5 in London is only equal to the chance of surviving to about
22 in the healthy districts.