View report page

5
Taking the deaths at all ages the chief causes were: bronchitis, which accounted
for 165; tuberculosis, which ended in death in 154 including 124 from phthisis;
pneumonia which caused 140; diseases of the circulatory organs, including heart
disease, 129, cancer 104, old age 103, Bright's disease 79, violence 63, apoplexy 51,
atrophy debility and marasmus 35, measles 34, whooping cough 29, and prematurity
which was given as the cause of 29 deaths.
Of the deaths from cancer 58 were of males and 46 females; 8 were of persons
aged from 20 to 45 years, 58 of persons aged from 45 to 65 years, 29 and 8 respectively
were the numbers for the next two decades and there was one death in a person over
80 years. There were in addition 16 deaths attributed to malignant disease and
sarcoma. Doubtless, some deaths from cancer are included amongst those attributed
to malignant disease. The death-rate due to cancer was 0.98 per 1,000 population
as compared with 1.1 for 1924, 1.0 for 1923, 0.82 for 1922, 0.87 for 1921, 0.91 for
1920, 0.93 for 1919, 0.95 for 1918 and 1.1 for 1917.
There were 13 deaths from appendicitis, 8 of them of males, and 5 deaths were
attributed to peritonitis, 4 of them of females.
No deaths were directly attributed to alcoholism, but 3, two of males, were given
as the result of cirrhosis of the liver, a disease due to chronic poisoning by alcohol.
Of the deaths from violence 42 were of males and 21 females. Through accident
or negligence 31 males and 16 females lost their lives. Fourteen of these were the
result of street accidents, 11 were due to falls, mostly amongst old people, 3 were due
to burns or scalds and 7 to suffocation. Three of the latter were in infants suffocated
in bed. There were 16 cases of suicide, 11 amongst males and 2 of homicide. The
number of infants suffocated in bed still remains low as compared with what it used
to be in years gone by. There is, however, still room for improvement.