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
Croydon 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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251
Vision.
The Entrant group is not examined for visual acuity at routine
medical inspection. If a child is wearing corrective glasses, the
vision is tested with the glasses worn at the time of examination.
In the Intermediate group 4.3 per cent. of the boys and 5.2
per cent. of the girls were referred for treatment or observation
for defective vision, and in the Leaver group 7.5 per cent. of the
boys and 8.2 per cent. of the girls. The Leaver group of girls
invariably gives ithe worst figures for vision.
| Extent of Defect. | Intermediates. | Leavers. | Total. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls. | Boys. | Girls | Boys. | Girls | |||||
| No. | % | No | % | No. | % | No. | % | % | % | |
| Normal | R 1457 | 96.0 | 1279 | 95.2 | 1420 | 93.4 | 1249 | 92.7 | 94.4 | 93.9 |
| 6/6ths. o 6/9ihs. | L 1462 | 96.4 | 1284 | 95.5 | 1426 | 93.8 | 1242 | 92.2 | 95.1 | 93.9 |
| 6/l 2ths or 6/24ths | R54 | 3.6 | 59 | 4.4 | 90 | 5.9 | 92 | 6.8 | 4.1 | 5.6 |
| L 50 | 3.3 | 52 | 3 .9 | 82 | 5.4 | 94 | 7.0 | 4.3 | 5.4 | |
| 6/36ths. or worse | R 6 | 0.4 | 6 | 0.4 | 10 | 0.7 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| L 5 | 0.3 | 8 | 0.6 | 12 | 0.8 | 11 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | |
Table VI
| Entrants. | Intermediates. | Leavers. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls | Boys. | Girls. | Boys. | Girls. | |||||||
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| Perfect set of Teeth | 499 | 34.7 | 519 | 35.7 | 654 | 43.1 | 542 | 40.3 | 939 | 61 8 | 823 | 61.1 |
| One to four decayed | 541 | 37.6 | 576 | 39.6 | 644 | 42.5 | 576 | 42.9 | 612 | 33.7 | 458 | 34.0 |
| Four or more decayed | 398 | 27.7 | 360 | 24 7 | 219 | 24.4 | 226 | 16.8 | 69 | 4.5 | 66 | 4.9 |
| Total | 1438 | 1455 | 1517 | 1344 | 1520 | 1347 | ||||||
It is interesting to note that 3,976 children of all groups, or
44.5 per cent., were found to have sound teeth at medical inspection.
The percentage of sound teeth found by the Dental
Inspectors was 32.3 per cent. The need for systematic instruction
on the care of the teeth is certainly indicated.