London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Shoreditch 1910

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]

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The deaths of males were 81 in excess of those of females.
The death-rate for 1910 was the lowest so far recorded for Shoreditch, being
16.8 per 1,000 inhabitants, as compared with 19.2 in 1909, 17.5 in 1908, 20.6 in
1907, 19.8 in 1906, 19.8 in 1905, 20.6 in 1904 and 19.6 in 1903. The rate for 1910
was nearly 18 per cent, below the average death-rate for the previous ten years.
It is a point of interest to compare the death-rate of Shoreditch of to-day with that
of fifty years ago. Taking the ten years ending 1865, the average was 25.0 per 1,000
population ; during the ten years ending 1910 the rate averaged 19.7 per 1,000,
the decrease, as shown by the difference between these two rates, amounting to just
over 21 per cent, or in other words for every 80 persons dying during the last ten
years, over a hundred died during the first ten years above mentioned.
The Metropolitan death-rate for 1910 was 12.7, the rate for England and Wales
13.4 for 77 great towns it was 14.3, and for 136 smaller towns it was 12.9 per 1,000
population.
In Tables I., II., IV., V., VI. and VII. (Appendix) are given the causes of death,
and the death-rates for the whole Borough and for its eight wards and other particulars
as to the mortality amongst the inhabitants of Shoreditch during the year. As
compared with the figures for 1909, decreases are noticeable in the death-rates of
all the wards of the Borough. There was a general lowering of the death-rate, but
the decrease was most marked in the southern portion of the Borough, comprising
Moorfields and Church Wards. The rate was lowest in Moorfields, and highest in
Whitmore being 10.5 and 25.0 per 1,000 respectively.f The death-rate of the Borough
was above the mean rate for the year until the second week of March. It was
again above from the end of March until the middle of April from which time, with
the exception of the second week of May, it was below the mean until the latter end
of September. During the last three months of the year the rate was above the mean.
The highest weekly death-rate was that of the last week of the year, 27.1 ; the lowest
was that of the last week of June, 8.5 per 1,000. The prevalence of chest complaints
was probably the chief factor in determining the elevations of the death-rate during
the earlier and latter portions of the year.
The deaths of infants under one year of age numbered 528, 298 being of males
and 230 of females, the deaths amounting to 27.6 per cent, of the total number of
deaths at all ages, as compared with 23 per cent, in 1909 and 25.4 in 1908. The
number of Shoreditch infants under one year dying during 1910 was at the rate of
Corrected for age and sex distribution the death-rate was 17.6 per 1,000 population.
The Shoreditch Workhouse is in Whitmore Ward ; this institution in the case of
some of the deaths in outlying institutions is the last known place of residence
in the Borough, and Whitmore Ward accordingly is, probably, credited with a
certain number of deaths belonging rightly to other wards which however it is
impossible to trace. This is a point to be borne in mind in connection with the
high rate for this Ward,