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
Acton 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Acton]
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22
of events follow in the North-Hast and North-West Wards in the
next deeennium ?
We may look at the figures from another angle—the angle
of the distribution of the population into age-groups, because the
altered incidence of the ages presents problems as important if
not as acute as the falling birth-rate.
The following table gives the population and the proportion of persons living in the different age-groups at the last four Censuses.
| Age in years. | 1931 | 1921 | 1911 | 1901 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Percentage. | Total | Percentage. | Total | Percentage. | Total | Pert-en tage. | |
| Under 1 | 944 | 1.34 | 1,196 | 1.95 | 1,283 | 2.23 | 994 | 2.63 |
| 1-5 | 3,663 | 5.21 | 3,783 | 6.18 | 5,140 | 8.93 | 3,569 | 9.46 |
| 5—15 | 10,173 | 14.44 | 11,470 | 18.7 | 10,930 | 19.00 | 8,014 | 21.23 |
| 15-25 | 12,840 | 18.22 | 10,393 | 16.91 | 10,286 | 18.00 | 7.334 | 19.43 |
| 25-45 | 22,672 | 32.15 | 19,452 | 31.73 | 19,010 | 33.00 | 11,277 | 29.88 |
| 45—65 | 11,598 | 22.11 | 11,788 | 19.22 | 8,624 | 15.00 | 5,171 | 13.69 |
| Over 65 | 4,620 | 6.50 | 3,212 | 5.24 | 2,325 | 4.04 | 1,385 | 3.67 |
Examination shows that in the last 30 years there has been
a steady and continuous fall in the proportion living in the age
periods under 15 years of age; this of course is due to the fall in
the number of births, though the improved infantile mortality
has modified the fall to some extent.
So far there has been no marked difference in age periods
15 to 25 years and 25 to 45 years, but in age periods after 45 years
of age, there is a steady rise in the proportion living at those ageperiods.
There are thus 3 phases established here at the present
time—a declining population tinder 25 years of age, a stationary
population between 25 and 45 years of age, and an increasing
population at all ages over 45. These phases have created and will
create problems for future administrators; fortuitous circumstances,
combined with a certain amount of foresight will solve one
problem, of which it is unnecessary to enter into at the present
time.
The position will soon reflect itself in our death-rate. As
there is a diminishing number of young people with a low deathRate
and an increasing number of ageing people with a high deathrate,
the ultimate effect of these inter-related factors is that the
decline in the death-rates at all ages recorded hitherto will cease