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
Merton and Morden 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton & Morden]
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| No. | Cause of Death | Males | Females | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Typhoid and Paratyphoid Fevers | - | - | - |
| 2 | Cerebro spinal fever | — | — | — |
| 3 | Scarlet Fever | 1 | — | 1 |
| 4 | Whooping Cough | — | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Diphtheria | — | — | — |
| 6 | Tuberculosis Respir. System | 21 | 13 | 34 |
| 7 | Other forms of Tuberculosis | — | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Syphilitic disease | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | Influenza | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Measles | — | — | — |
| 11 | Ac. Poliomyel. and polioencephalitis | - | - | — |
| 12 | Ac. inf. encephalitis | — | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Cancer of buc. cav. and oesoph. (M) uterus (F) | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| 14 | Cancer of stomach and duodenum | 11 | 8 | 19 |
| 15 | Cancer of breast | — | 12 | 12 |
| 16 | Cancer of all other sites | 45 | 25 | 70 |
| 17 | Diabetes | 1 | — | 1 |
| 18 | Intra-cranial vascular lesions | 28 | 38 | 66 |
| 19 | Heart disease | 85 | 85 | 170 |
| 20 | Other dis. of circ. system | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 21 | Bronchitis | 18 | 12 | 30 |
| 22 | Pneumonia | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| 23 | Other respiratory diseases | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 24 | Ulcer of stom. or duodenum | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 25 | Diarrhoea under 2 years | — | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | Appendicitis | — | — | 8 |
| 27 | Other digestive diseases | 4 | 4 | |
| 28 | Nephritis | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 29 | Puer. and post abort, sepsis | — | — | — |
| 30 | Other maternal causes | — | — | — |
| 31 | Premature birth | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 32 | Con. mal. birth inj. inf. dis. | 10 | 11 | 21 |
| 33 | Suicide | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 34 | Road traffic accident | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| 35 | Other violent causes | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| 36 | All other causes | 19 | 16 | 35 |
| Total all causes | 309 | 263 | 572 | |
MATERNAL MORTALITY.
It is very gratifying once again to record a "Nil" return
for maternal deaths. We had a Nil return in 1946 and one
death in 1947 which gave us, last year, a maternal mortality rate
of 0.73 per thousand total births. This year it is again zero.
A table is produced on the next page showing the maternal
mortality rates for the district for the past 20 years and the comparable
rates for England and Wales as a whole. This table demonstrates
very clearly the consistently more favourable mortality
19