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 1909
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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12
of 1901. The columns showing "death-rates corrected for age and sex distribution" have been
obtained by multiplying the crude death-rates by the "factors for correction" published by the
Registrar-General in the Annual Summary for 1909.
| Town. | Estimated Population (middle of 1909). | Crude death-rate per 1,000 persons living. | Death-rate per 1,000 persons living (corrected for age and sex distribution). | Comparative mortality figure. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1904-8. | 1909. | 1904-8. | 1909. | 1909. | ||
| Liverpool | 760,357 | 20.2 | 19.0 | 21.6 | 20.4 | 1,406 |
| Manchester | 655,435 | 18.9 | 17.9 | 21.1 | 20.0 | 1,379 |
| Birmingham | 563,629 | 17.0 | 15.4 | 18.3 | 16.6 | 1,145 |
| Leeds | 484,012 | 15.9 | 14.1 | 17.3 | 15.3 | 1,058 |
| Sheffield | 470,958 | 16.6 | 15.1 | 17.9 | 16.2 | 1,121 |
| Bristol | 377,642 | 14.3 | 12.7 | 14.7 | 13.1 | 901 |
| West Ham | 321,767 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 16.1 | 15.0 | 1,037 |
| Bradford | 293,983 | 15.9 | 14.5 | 17.5 | 16.0 | 1,106 |
| Newcastle-on-Tyne | 281,584 | 17.0 | 14.8 | 18.4 | 16.0 | 1,104 |
| Hull | 275,552 | 16.8 | 14.9 | 17.2 | 15.3 | 1,057 |
| Nottingham | 263,443 | 16.6 | 16.3 | 17.5 | 17.2 | 1,184 |
| Salford | 241,950 | 18.4 | 18.0 | 20.3 | 19.9 | 1,372 |
| Leicester | 244,255 | 13.5 | 12.9 | 14.4 | 13.8 | 949 |
London had therefore (comparing the corrected death-rates) both in the quinquennium 1904-8
and in the year 1909 a lower death-rate than any of these towns except Bristol and Leicester.
The following table enables comparison to be made of the crude death-rate of London with
that of several foreign towns:—
| Town. | 1904-8. | 1909. | Town. | 1904-8. | 1909. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Petersburg | 25.5 | 24.6 | |||
| Paris | 17.7 | 17.4 | Berlin | 16.1 | 15.1 |
| Brussels | 14.4 | 13.9 | Vienna | 18.0 | 16.8 |
| Amsterdam | 13.8 | 13.1 | Rome | l8.9 | 19.3 |
| Copenhagen | 15.9 | 14.5 | New York | 18.8 | 16.2 |
| Stockholm | 14.5 | 14.3 |
It will be seen from the foregoing table that in the quinquennium 1904-8 the London death-rate
was exceeded by the death-rates of Paris, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Vienna, Rome and
New York, and in 1909 was lower than that of any except Brussels and Amsterdam.
London mortality in 1909 compared with the mortality in the decennium 1891-1900.
The following table shows the mean death-rates obtaining in London at the several age-periods
and for each sex in the decennium 1891-1900 and in the year 1909. The figures for the year 1909 are fully
corrected for institution deaths (see footnote (2), page 6), and the rates for the decennium 1891-1900
are based upon figures which have been corrected for institution deaths on the basis of the experience
of the four years 1897-1900; a fuller discussion of this point will be found in the London Life Table
appended to my report for the year 1901.
1 See footnote (2) page 6.