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 1897
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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amount of "life capital" gained or lost is shown for the age groups "under 25 years" and "25 years
and upwards" in each of the periods under consideration. The following figures are obtained, by
addition, from the preceding table-
| Period. | Number of lives gained ( + ) or lost (-) by fluctuations of mortality (compared with the period 1881-90). | Amount of "life capital" gained (+) or lost (-) by fluctuations of mortality (compared with the period 1881-90). | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ages. Under 25. | Ages. 25 and upwards. | All ages. | Ages. Under 25. | Ages. 25 and upwards. | All ages. | |
| Years. | Years. | Years. | ||||
| 1891-4 | + 1,653 | - 611 | + 1,042 | + 80,818 | - 1,212 | + 79,606 |
| 1895 | + 1,737 | + 956 | + 2,693 | + 81,649 | + 39,167 | + 120,816 |
| 1896 | + 2,010 | + 6,264 | + 8,274 | + 92,920 | + 108,896 | + 201,816 |
| 1897 | + 5,705 | + 4,631 | + 10,336 | + 281,196 | + 86,619 | + 367,815 |
The most striking feature of this table is the extent of the variations exhibited by the figures
relating to ages "25 and upwards," the figures for the period 1891-4 showing a mean annual loss of
611 lives at these ages, while the corresponding figures for the year 1896 show a gain of 6,264 lives.
Another point worthy of note is the large increase in the number of lives gained in the year 1897 at
ages "under 25," and it will be seen on reference to Table V. that this increase is most marked at the
age period 0-5 years.
Referring again to Table III., shown on page 11, in which the decreasing proportion of "life
capital" gained to each life gained in the periods 1891-4, 1891-5, 1891-6, and 1891-7 is shown, it
will readily be seen from the preceding analysis of the mortality figures for the years 1895, 1896, and
1897 that the successive addition of these figures to those relating to the period 1891-4-a period
which in respect of the large proportion of "life capital" gained to each life gained has been shown
to be exceptional-has caused a progressive reduction in this proportion in each of the periods
1891-5, 1891-6, and 1891-7.
In the foregoing statement it has been necessary to use figures relating to deaths actually
registered in London. In the following table are shown the figures obtained after exclusion of the
deaths of persons, not resident in London, occurring in public institutions, and the inclusion of the
death of Londoners occurring in public institutions belonging to London, but situated outside the
county. It will be observed that the effect of distribution is to reduce the number of deaths at the
earlier ages, and to increase the number at the later ages shown in the table. The effect of this correction
on the death rates is, however, but trifling.
| Age-period. | Deaths. | Difference. | Death rates per 1,000 living. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before distribution. | After distribution. | Before distribution. | After distribution. | ||
| All ages | 79,613 | 79,408 | -205 | 17.84 | 17.79 |
| 0- | 32,228 | 32,067 | -161 | 60.63 | 60.33 |
| 5- | 2,155 | 2,114 | -41 | 4.48 | 4.39 |
| 10- | 1,042 | 1,008 | -34 | 2.36 | 2.28 |
| 15- | 1,351 | 1,278 | -73 | 3.06 | 2.89 |
| 20- | 1,744 | 1,667 | -77 | 3.84 | 3.67 |
| 25- | 4,642 | 4,539 | -103 | 6.11 | 5.97 |
| 35- | 6,684 | 6,647 | -37 | 12.14 | 12.07 |
| 45- | 7,420 | 7,367 | -53 | 19.00 | 18.86 |
| 55- | 7,752 | 7,780 | +28 | 33.02 | 33.14 |
| 65- | 7,683 | 7,852 | +169 | 59.08 | 60.38 |
| 75- | 5,495 | 5,644 | +149 | 132.37 | 135.96 |
| 85 and upwards | 1,417 | 1,445 | +28 | 260.86 | 266.02 |
Infant mortality.
The deaths of children under one year of age in the Administrative County of London during
1897 numbered 21,157, being in the proportion of 158 per 1,000 births.
The infant mortality in London may be compared with that in other English towns having
more than 200,000 inhabitants by reference to the following table-