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
Orpington 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Orpington]
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12
DEATHS.
During the year there were 516 deaths registered and belonging
to the Urban District. Of this number 262 were males and 254
females.
The Death Rate for the area is 7.8 per 1,000 total population. Of the deaths occurring,
| Male | Female | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | were under 1 year of age | 9 | 6 |
| 3 | were 1 and under 5 years of age | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | were 5 and under 15 years of age | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | were 15 and under 25 years of age | 1 | 3 |
| 27 | were 25 and under 45 years of age | 15 | 12 |
| 128 | were 45 and under 65 years of age | 73 | 55 |
| 129 | were 65 and under 75 years of age | 69 | 60 |
| 208 | were 75 years of age and over | 93 | 115 |
Causation of Deaths.
The following tabulation gives details of the main causes of death in the Urban District during the past five years: —
| Year. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disease. | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 |
| Cancer (all sites) | 114 | 120 | 85 | 108 | 108 |
| Heart and Circulatory Diseases | 342 | 293 | 285 | 320 | 262 |
| Respiratory Diseases (excluding Tuberculosis) | 66 | 76 | 77 | 81 | 44 |
| Tuberculosis | 11 | 19 | 11 | 10 | 5 |
| Infectious Diseases | 1 | ;- | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Influenza | 5 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 1 |
| Road Accidents | 9 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| Other Accidents | 9 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Other Causes | 104 | 112 | 92 | 92 | 85 |
| 661 | 654 | 565 | 634 | 516 | |
A complete list of the causes of death will be found in Table II
in the Appendix.
Cancer of the Lung.
During the year there were 25 deaths from cancer of the lung.
Maternal Mortality.
There were no maternal deaths in the area during 1954.
Infantile Mortality.
Fifteen infants died during 1954 before reaching their first birthday,
giving an Infant Mortality Rate for the year of 14.3 per 1,000
live births.
Eleven died in the first four weeks of life, 9 of which were within
the first week.
The average rate for the past five years is 18.7.