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
Coulsdon and Purley 1945
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Coulsdon]
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For comparative purposes the following table is of more value as giving the death rates per 1 ,000 population during the war years for the chief individual diseases and groups of diseases:—
| 1939. | 1940. | 1941. | 1942. | 1943. | 1944. | 1945. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Influenza, bronchitis and pneumonia | 0.59 | 1.46 | 1.08 | 1.28 | 0.99 | 1.40 | 0.85 |
| Tuberculosis, pulmonary | 0.24 | 0.41 | 0.55 | 0.44 | 0.46 | 0.61 | 0.33 |
| Cancer | 1.58 | 1.45 | 1.92 | 1.74 | 1.51 | 1.91 | 1.75 |
| Violence (including suicide) | 0.49 | 1.18 | 0.75 | 0.40 | 0.42 | 1.35 | 0.41 |
| Heart and other circulatory, including cerebral haemorrhage | 3.08 | 3.84 | 4.26 | 4.57 | 4.40 | 5.04 | 5.15 |
HEART DISEASE, ETC.
It will be seen that the death rate from heart and other circulatory
diseases has increased steadily. In so far as this group is largely composed
of deaths occurring in elderly people from what is really old age, the
increase obviously reflects the ageing population with which this Report
deals, and it is hoped that the proportion of deaths coming under this
heading will remain relatively high.
The following table shows the percentages of deaths from this cause during the years 1939 to 1945 which were in respect of persons over 65 years of age at the time death occurred:—
| 1939. | 1940. | 1941. | 1942. | 1943. | 1944. | 1945. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78% | 73% | 80% | 76% | 81% | 78% | 82% |
Naturally the higher this percentage the more satisfactory the
position.
CANCER.
The cancer death rate was 1,75 per thousand of population in
1945, which is slightly above the average for the war years though less
than the rate for 1944. It will be appreciated that the smaller the
annual totals under consideration the more the corresponding rates are
liable to fluctuate from year to year. In the case of cancer, however,
it is obvious that the average rate during the recent years has been
higher than in the earlier pre-war years. To what extent this increase
is attributable to the increasing age of the population or to better
diagnosis it is impossible to say, although both have been undoubtedly
contributory influences, the latter probably to a diminishing extent.
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